


Top of the Ladder

by peanutbutter_kitz



Category: Borderlands, TFTBL - Fandom, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Dating, Dirty Talk, Falling In Love, Jack/Rhys - Freeform, Love, Lovers, M/M, Phone Sex, Rough Sex, Sex at work, Sexting, Sexual Content, a lot of new plot, blowjob, continuation from tales of the borderlands, mature - Freeform, otp, rhack - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-04-07 01:19:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 66,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4244100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peanutbutter_kitz/pseuds/peanutbutter_kitz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After spending what feels like forever on Pandora, Rhys and Vaughn have finally returned to Helios, to claim, with Yvette, the status they deserve. Finally walking in his idol's footsteps, Rhys is now the new CEO of Hyperion. But, not too long after returning, Rhys starts to notice the lack of appearances from the holographic Handsome Jack, actually... he's gone all together. But nothing to worry about right? After all, who could take his new promotion away from him now?</p>
<p>The only way he could lose it is if Handsome Jack made a grand appearance once again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

No matter what way you look at it, you could never have called Rhys's life __easy__ _._ He had to work his way to the top. Sure he had his friends to push him up there, but, for the three of them, their work wasn't easy. Especially when all the hard work got ripped away from them, torn apart and strewn around like pieces of tattered paper on the floor, and then Rhys having to be the one to clean up those tiny pieces of paper. It should've been simple. Walk into his bosses office, be promoted and live the high life with Vaughn and Yvette, living out Handsome Jack's legacy... But Hugo Vasquez was suddenly in his bosses chair, living out _Rhys's_ high life and becoming the next Handsome Jack. Things only got worse when they became stranded on Pandora for god knows how long. Well... Worse was probably how it first seemed, but really all these events just fell, falling like domino's, to cause the inevitable meet with the dead CEO of Hyperion and the finally push to the future Rhys and his counter parts actually deserved.

 

* * *

"This. Is. AWESOME!" Vaughn exclaims, running ahead into the room, taking in the amazing, _expensive_ architecture.

"We'll, what did you expect doofus? Handsome Jack did like to flaunt his money, he was hardly gonna work in a cardboard box." Yvette reminds, walking after the accountant.

"There's a _waterfall_ _?!_ Did you know about this Rhys?!" Vaugh continues to marvel in the offices beauty. Granted it wasn't like any other office. It was so big and built up you could probably live in it, which Jack probably did. Word spread he barely ever left this place. Tied down with work and... Killing employees.

"How am I supposed to know about it? This is the first time I've stepped foot in here too." He reminds, getting a little distracted by the leather chair and sleek oak desk.

"Yeah but not the last time." Yvette reminds, elbowing him a little, winking.

"Yeah bro, you finally made it!" Vaughn adds, clapping his pal on the back, trying to contain his excitement.

"No bro," Rhys begins, wrapping his arms around the two, pulling them in close, " _we_ made it." He finishes, proudly standing with the two.

"So, what's the first thing you're gonna do now your CEO?" Vaugh questions, appreciating the short dramatic pause.

"Hmm.... Lunch?" Ryhs grins, eyeing Yvette and taking into the excited look that pops into her face.

"Thought you'd never ask." She grins. The three step into the private elevator together and Rhys pushes the button for the cafeteria.

"Just think, soon that'll be an 'R'!" Vaughn sequels, pointing at the gold 'H' located at the top of the elevator buttons.

"How's that going by the way?" Yvette questions, adding a sudden seriousness to the conversation.

"How's what going?" Ryhs asks, raising an eyebrow and leaning back on the gold rail of the glass elevator.

"Do you still... See him? Handsome Jack that is." She explains further.

"Nope. He left a couple of weeks after we got back from Pandora. I don't know what happened to him. Maybe it was a signal on the planet that kept him implanted in my head... By the looks of things he's gone for good this time." He replies, a slight sadness to him voice. Understandable really. Handsome Jack was his  _ _idol__ _,_ he was probably the reason why him and Vaughn actually _survived_ on Pandora, with the help of Sasha and Fiona of course. The elevator slows to a stop and the doors slide open, opening to the cafeteria.

"What do you want today then?" Rhys grins, grabbing a table and ignoring all the looks he was getting. Since returning from Pandora, without Vasquez, it was obvious that Rhys was going to be the next president of Hyperion, so the looks of awe and admiration flooded in pretty quickly. Now it was just natural for Rhys to ignore and brush them off.

"I would really love something super expensive, just to squeeze some of that new cash out of you, but you really can't beat the sandwich from this place Yvette smirks.

* * *

First week on the job and Rhys could understand why Jack never left this place. There was so much paperwork. Things consisting of complaints, suggestions, financial accounts, new employees, accidents... How did he have chance to even _sleep_ _?!_ But, Rhys was pulling through. He was finally managing to get Hyperion back onto the standard it was on before Jack died and was getting to the point where he felt _comfortable_ with the sudden responsibility placed on his shoulders. For once since he'd started, his desk was paper free. All the work finished and passed onto the relevant people. However, this won't last for very long, there'd probably be another stack being pushed by his assistant through the door in a bout five minuets so he leaks in the quiet time. Kicking his feet up onto the desk, making sure its on the leather desk matt so not to mark the varnished wood, and leans back in his leather chair, the waterfall adding a calming effect to the otherwise silent atmosphere. Its not long before he hears the ding of _his_ private elevator and awaits for one of the three options it could be. Either, Yvette's voice calling to go to lunch, Vaughn wanting to hang out in the 'sweet office' or the squeak of the fucking broken wheel on the trolley that delivers more paperwork. When there's no noise, Rhys furrows his eyebrows and opens his eyes to look at the empty elevator. The door was closing, getting ready for when its next called, without dropping anyone off. Maybe it was a fault in the system? He'd call one of the technicians up in a bit. Right now, he just wanted to bask in the no work. But... Horror films where never Rhys's forte and he's pretty sure that's something that would fit into one about ghosts and riddled with jump scares. The arriving elevator with no occupants. Goosebumps travel over his skin, his hair standing on end. Did he really want to open his eyes again? What if something was waiting for him? Surely then it would be worse to keep his eyes shut? But what you can't see can't hurt you right? Isn't that how the saying goes...? Suddenly, his chair is pulled back slightly, causing him to cry out and his eyes to shoot open. His hands grip the arms of the chair and his legs retract, his knees pressing up against his chest as a means of protection. There's a sudden eruption of laughter and Ryhs sighs in annoyance.

"Oh k-kiddo- hah- that... That was priceless!" The familiar tune of Handsome Jacks mockery rings out.

"Where the hell have you been? Its been so long I thought I'd gotten rid of you. Don't you have someone else to bother?" He growls, raising his hands and swiping it at Jacks face. What he was expecting... What _should've_ happened. Was that his hand _should've_ passed straight through Jacks head, just as a little incentive to piss off... But it didn't. There was the unmistakeable sound of skin connecting with skin and Rhys' hand abruptly stopping against Jacks cheek. Now there's no laughter, no nothing. Just the face that was previously contorted into glee and fits of laughter, now straight and serious, unmistakable anger building onto it.

"D-did you just slap me?!" Jack snarls, gripping Rhys' wrist of the hand that is still raised and pulling him up, over the back of his chair, knocking it backwards. Hanging limply and powerlessly in his grip, Rhys can only stare at what he thought was just a hologram of Handsome Jack, like it had been for so many months. There's another ding from the elevator and two voices fill the room

"Bro, you still up for lun-?" Vaughn begins, before halting himself at seeing the scene in front of him.

"H-Handsome... Handsome _Jack_ _?!_ _The_ Handsome Jack?!" Yvette exclaims, as shocked as Rhys is that he's just slapped the former President of Hyperion. The same former president that would throw people out of an airlock if they even _looked_ at him funny.

"Y-you guys can see him to right?! He's not a hologram this time... Right?!" Rhys questions, not pulling his eyes from the infuriated ones of Jack.

"Y-Yeah we can see him... I don't _think_ he's a hologram." Vaughn replies, breaking the stunned silence.

"Oh... Oh my... GOD! I JUST SLAPPED HANDSOME JACK!" Rhys cries out, trying to pull away from the vice like grip.

"You what?!" Yvette exclaims, looking on wide eyed.

"What did you _think_ was gonna happen, cupcake?" Jack murmurs.

"I-I-I I thought it would just... Y'know... Pass straight through you like it normally does." Rhys cowers, spilling honesty. There's a slight pause, before he finally releases his grip and jumps up onto the desk, sitting down and looking at the younger man.

"What just happened put me in too much of a good mood to kill you over a mistake this time." He explains, noticing Rhys' questioning look on why he hasn't been shot and half buried by now.

"You guessed it Rhysie, I'm not a hologram any more. I'm Handsome me again." He adds, including a sly wink to the recovering CEO. Standing his chair upright again, Rhys studies Jack carefully before finally speaking out.

"H-how?" He chokes, not even trying to play it cool any more. How can anyone play it cool after hitting their idol and former boss in the face?

"Oh, that's interesting... You forgot huh? Even better," Jack mutters, looking over his shoulder at Vaughn and Yvette, "those two didn't tell you." He grins, his focus returning to Rhys.

"Tell me what? What did I forget?" He questions, uncertain at where the conversation is heading.

"You underwent surgery when you get back Rhysie boy. Surgeons pulled out your echo eye, to get me out of your brain. Remember how you were aching for a couple of weeks after you got back and Vaughn here played along too? That was because you'd just had the Echo implant surgery all over again. To make sure you didn't remember it, people just told you it was the change in pressure from being back in space.  I won't bore you with the details, but I made sure the surgeons didn't kill you or damage your pretty face whilst managing to turn me into actual cells and matter from ones and zero's. I asked your two friends here to keep quiet about it, because I didn't want to get back to tons over paper work and Hyperion being a shit hole, when you'd been begging for the work for ages." He explains, leaning back on his hands casually, taking the explanation in his stride. There's a slight pause as Rhys soaks the information up, trying to wrap his head around it all. How could he forget he had surgery? Did he even consent to the surgery?... Probably not, that's probably why he can't remember it. It _is_ Hyperion after all. Jack was the best leader they ever had, so for someone to have the data of him floating around their brain... They probably grabbed him on arrival and put him under.

"So... You used me? You let me believe that you'd actually gone and let me take your place so that I could do all the paper work that had piled up on your desk, so you didn't have to?!" Rhys questions, trying to keep his voice on an even tone. He'd already pissed Jack off once today, he doesn't want to do it again, not matter how much anger is building up inside him.

"Um... Yeah?" Jack begins, raising an eyebrow to the younger man, as if what he'd just said was so stupid that it shouldn't have even left his mouth, "Have you forgotten what company you're working for pumpkin? This is _Hyperion_ people use each other all the time to get to the rung of the ladder that they wanna be on. Heck, you and you little friends have probably stood on thousands of faces to get to the position you're in now, Mr President of Hyperion." He finishes, reminding Rhys about some of the people him, Vaughn and Yvette have screwed over.

"I've gotta admit though Rhys, it took a lot of commitment and hard work to get to this point, so well done." Jack grins. Rhys can barely tell if that was sarcasm or if Jack was actually being truthful. He'd been complimented and praised by the man before, even if it was only once or twice, but that was always for hurting someone or insulting them, never for _actual_ work.

"So that's it then. We finally got all the way to the top, to the point we had been working for for ages, after all the shit we went through, having to live for so long on Pandora and now because you've come back, it's all going to be ripped away from us again! I've done the hard start for you and now you can just take it from there." Rhys rants, throwing his arms up and beginning to walk to the elevator. Jack jumps off of the desk and catches up with him.

"Whoa, kiddo. Hold your horses," He soothes, wrapping his arm around Rhys' shoulders, "who said anything abut destroying all your hard work?" he questions, forcing Rhys to stop walk and turn back around.

"Well it's obvious isn't it? It's no secret you don't like to share power and you can't have two presidents. Anything from here would be a demotion." Rhys explains, allowing Jack to walk him back to the desk.

"Can you leave me and Rhys to our conversation? I'll make sure to return him to you in a few and give you a extended lunch." Jack orders more than requests, waving his hand at Vaughn and Yvette.

"S-Sure, Sir." Vaughn stammers, entering the elevator with Yvette and disappearing as it takes them to the lower floors. Once the two are out of sight, Jack places his hand on Rhys' chest, pushing him into the leather chair.

"Being as my name _is_ Handsome Jack, I make the rules at Hyperion. I do what ever pleases and benefits me. If I want there two be two presidents, there _will_ be two presidents. Do you get where I'm going with this Pumpkin?" Jack explains, standing behind the chair, his hands gripping the back of it.

"You mean... I'm not getting demoted?" Rhys asks, his head tilting back slightly to look Jack in the eye.

"Of course you're not. I seem to remember that whilst we were on Pandora together, I said that we could run Hyperion together," he explains, taking a hold of the younger man's chin and tilting it further, "I'm not one to break promises." he finishes, leaning in a little closer. It was only a small movement, but Rhys noticed it.

"But you also said that it'd be you mostly running the show." Rhys adds, remembering the muttered sentences.

"Well, yeah. I've been doing this a lot longer than you Princess. You'd still have all the privileges that I have, you'd also be the face of the company with me, I'd just have the final say in the decisions, after conversing with you and have just a tad more power than you would. What do ya say Rhysie, wanna run Hyperion with me?" Jack presses, holding his hand out, awaiting the inevitable. After a slight pause, Rhys reaches forward and takes Jack's hand, sealing the deal.

 


	2. A Business Deal

"Sooo... Should I bother asking you if you're gonna buy me lunch today?" Yvette calls to Rhys as he steps out of the elevator.

"Don't tell me all our hard work has gone down the drain again!" Vaughn whines, his nerves gripping onto him as he sees the rather drained expression if his friend. Slumping down into the chair on the opposite side of the table of the two, he rests his head into his hands and stares blankly ahead.

"Um, Rhys, hello? I need to know who's feeding me today." Yvette prods his arm, waving her hand slightly in front of his face.

"Don't even look at me for lunch. I don't have enough money for all of us." Vaughn mutters.

"I know how much your job pays. You have _more_ than enough for a three person lunch for one day." She replies, rolling her eyes.

"Its not me you should be asking." Rhys answers, his facial features suddenly changing to look as if he'd been paying attention the whole time and leaning back casually in his chair. The two look on at him confused and are about to question him when he doesn't elaborate, before they are stopped by someone sitting by his side, joining their table of three.

"Hey kids, thanks for giving me and Rhysie some time to talk stuff over. Lunch is on me, so what's it gonna be?" Jack questions, his palms lying flat on the cafeteria table, sitting rather casually from that which you'd expect the average president of a company to sit. The pair seem pretty starstruck at Handsome Jacks sudden appearance and the offer to have lunch with him.

"U-Um..." Yvette stammers, her mind telling her that she shouldn't be looking at the man for this long, but her eyes not giving her the option to pull away.

"I hear they've just got a new sandwich on the menu. Its turkey, chicken and mayonnaise in one of those delicious cooked French sticks, apparently they're supposed to be the latest big hit. Wanna give them a try Kiddo's?" He urges, after a few minuets of not receiving an answer.

"Uh- y-yeah sure. We were just talking about that actually. Me and Yvette. Whilst waiting for Rhys- not that being with you isn't a good enough excuse for him to be late-" Vaughn stammers, answering for the group.

"Calm down princess, its not like I'm going to kill ya." Jack chuckles, standing and walking toward the counter.

"What the hell is going on Rhys?!" Yvette questions once Jacks out of earshot.

"Jacks let me keep my job... I'm gonna be partner president and CEO of Hyperion with him." Rhys explains, still a little shocked himself at the words that leave his mouth.

"Y-Youre kidding right? I mean... This is _Handsome Jack_ we're talking about! The last person that tried to take over his position, whilst he was alive, had his limbs torn off by skags and a bullet through the head! Why would he suddenly share his business with you?" Vaughn reminds, suddenly dragging the conversation into a serious mood. Rhys wasn't too sure whether he should be offended by what his friend had just said, whether Vaughn was implying that he wasn't even on the level of the last person that got killed, no matter about Jacks. Well, he knew he'd never be as great as Jack, but the guy that was killed... Rhys was still alive so he's already doing a fair bit better.

"Vaughn's right Rhys. I know that he's your hero and he was in your head for a while, but be careful around him. By now he probably knows how you think and is already thinking of ways to manipulate you." Yvette adds, folding her arms on her chest. Before Rhys can get a word in to defend himself, Jack returns, a waiter following suit with a tray of sandwiches.

"I got you that coffee you were talking about cupcake." He smirks, putting down the polystyrene cup filled with the hot, brown liquid in front of Rhys.

* * *

After lunch, they all returned to work, Vaughn and Yvette splitting from Rhys and Jack as they get into their private elevator. A sudden, awkward silence falls between them and Rhys doesn't know how to start up a conversation with his co worker, so he decided to just let the quiet elevator music fill the space.

"Y'know pumpkin, I can't exactly figure you out." Jack speaks suddenly, seemingly picking the topic from thin air. But it wasn't really was it? Rhys couldn't look at the other man since they stepped into the elevator because he could feel Jacks eyes scanning over every inch of his body.

"W-What do you mean?" He questions, forcing his vision to Jack.

"I was in your head for so long... You probably didn't realize that I was sifting through your memories that whole time and the things I saw... Felt what you felt, lived what you lived. We are a lot more alike than I first thought." He explains, causing Rhys to suddenly feel violated in nearly every way possible. His memories were things only _he_ should see. What gave Jack the right to look through _any_ of them?

"In what way?" Rhys pushes a further explanation from his work partner.

"You won't admit it, I know. Its a hard thing to admit. Heck even I struggled with it to begin with but, you just gotta let go and accept it. You _enjoy_ _killing_ _._ I felt the rush you had when you killed some of those physco bandits on Pandora. I'm pretty sure you even enjoyed the danger that you experienced down there. Especially when Vallory came into the picture, being pinned down, having that thrilling chase with Augusts car and getting captured at the end of it all." Jack replies, grinning, folding his arms and leaning nonchalantly on the glass of the elevator.

"Whaaat? Nooo. Y-You're crazy. Why would I enjoy _any_ of that stuff? I could've been _killed_ _._ How's that enjoyable?" Rhys brushes off, diverting his gaze again to look out into space as the elevator continues to climb up to the office.

"God, you've always been a terrible liar," Jack mutters, moving toward Rhys, his arm pressing on the back of the younger mans neck and his body pushing into him, forcing Rhys to press against the glass, "I bet you get off on it. Get off on the danger of the situation. Being in such a problem that can easily become a near death experience can be quiet exhilarating, am I right Rhysie?" He purrs, putting more pressure on the back of his neck.

"Y-You can't be serious-" Rhys begins to argue, before Jack interrupts him by gripping the back of his shirt, pulling him back, turning him and slamming his back against the glass. His arm quickly presses against his neck again, applying only a little amount of pressure, but enough to add a little difficulty to Rhys's breathing.

"Don't play around with me cupcake. I was in your head, remember?! I bet you're even enjoy this, because you know that I could snap your neck like a twig _right_ _now_ if I wanted to."  
There's that silence again... Rhys swallows, unsure on what to do in this situation and Jack feels the skin against his arm move as the fear slides down Rhys's throat. Suddenly, the elevator sounds, signalling its arrival, and the doors slide open.

"Welcome back." The familiar, monotone, robotic voice of Loader Bot greets. Instantly Jack pulls away and turns his attention to the work bot in the office.

"What is he doing in here?" He questions, exiting the elevator, only giving the bot a side glance.

"There's no way I was sending him back to stasis with the other decommissioned loader bots. He's acting as security for the office." Rhys explain, bro fisting Loader bot as he passes.

"I'll let it slide for now," Jack mutters, moving to the desk and turning the computer on, "C'mere, we've got a business deal to discuss." He beckons, sitting down at the office chair and patting the corner of the desk. Rhys follows, sitting down on the varnished oak, leaning forward slightly to get a good view of the monitor screen.

"A deal already?" He murmurs, a little shocked about how quickly a deal had come through after the leaked information of Handsome Jack's return. Nobody had wanted to do a deal with Hyperion so far, until enough Intel had been gathered on the new President, Rhys.

"They never stop Kiddo, get used to this." Jack replies, bringing up a file with a lot of uniformed writing. Rhys instantly recognizes the logo in the top right corner. Jakobs.

"Why does Jakobs what to do a deal with Hyperion?" Rhys questions, more to himself than his partner.

"Because _you_ pushed them down to second place." Jack answers, scrolling down to the main part of the deal.

"What do you mean by that?" Rhys frowns, unsure on what he'd done.

"Since being in charge of Hyperion, you were able to get the company back on its feet, meaning that we're number one in the business again. They probably want to make sure they don't get forgotten or too far out of the lime light." Jack explains.

"So what's their proposition?" Rhys asks, scanning his eyes over the text on the screen.

"They want to make a line of guns with us." Jack says.

"Just one line? How much are they offering?" Rhys questions already knowing they're going to get more than half.

"They would create everything about it and give us seventy percent of profits." He reads aloud. There's a short silence as the pair think over the offer.

"I don't like it." Rhys finally announces, breaking the silence.

"Why's that pumpkin?" Jack questions, suddenly making Rhys feel uncomfortable, like what he said was out of line.

"If anything goes wrong, it would come straight back to us, not them. Like you said, we're the best in the business, if something went wrong, there's a high possibility it could knock us out of the game." Rhys explains, sitting with his gut and forcing out his confidence.

"But seventy percent could result to a _lot_ of money." Jack points out.

"But if something _were_ to go wrong, it could result in a _lot_ of money _lost_ _._ " Rhys reminds. Again, silence falls between the two as Jack thinks things over.

"Good point Rhysie. I'll tell them that we don't have a deal." Jack says, tapping his fingers quickly and smoothly along the keyboard. Rhys stands from the desk, satisfied that his input into the deal was finished. Shortly afterwards, Jack's arm wraps around Rhys's waist, pulling him close.

"Well done on your first business deal kitten." He purrs ,pulling Rhys in closer, causing him to fall onto his lap.

"K-Kitten?" Rhys stammers, wrapping his arms instinctively around Jacks shoulders for support.

"I should've hired you as a partner president ages ago." He grins, resting his head on Rhys's shoulder and breathing out heavily, to make sure that his breath brushes over his neck, causing him to shiver.

 


	3. Bullet Wounds

Rhys takes another bite from the succulent red apple in his metal hand. Reading over a piece of paper in the other hand, checking all the financial costs at the end of this month, Vaughn having helped out by doing all the difficult calculation stuff earlier today whilst Rhys was having a new suit fitted. He liked the clothes he was wearing previously, but apparently they were to... How had Jack put it? Cheap. He said they looked to cheap to be running alongside him and that they advertised the company. Apparently the number one rule of dressing as a president of your company is don't advertise said company... At all. So now, he was wearing a fully black suit, with silver buttons which had an amber light illuminating the centre of each one. The trousers were a little on the tight side, pinching at his crotch and rear a little tighter than he was comfortable with. When he had asked for them to be loosened slightly, the tailor refused, saying it was Jacks design and that he'd given the petty excuse of it being more formal than having baggy trousers. Which was true, but this tight is slightly ridiculous. Walking down the steps, he walks into the main office area, his eyes still fixed on the paper and the crunching of the apple piece loud in his head. Suddenly, there's a rather impressed whistle which jolts Rhys to attention, pulling his eyes from the information sheet.

"Looking very dapper in the new suit kitten." Jack compliments, walking over to him and circling, eyeing every section if the fabric. Rhys nods in appreciation, not wanting to be rude and talk with his mouth full and also not wanting to risk saying anything about how tight the trousers were. If Jack had designed this outfit, he certainly wouldn't want to hear about the faults. He'd probably get used to it soon enough anyway. Just wear them in type of thing.

"Whatcha reading?" Jack questions, taking a quick, sneaky bite from the apple whilst Rhys holds it idly in his hand.

"The financial expenses from this month." He replies, letting Jacks action pass and taking another bite from the apple, but on the opposite side. Jack clearly picks up on this, but doesn't make it known.

"How's it looking, not going bankrupt are we?" He jokes, resting his head on Rhys's shoulder and looking over it to see the information on the paper.

"We're doing well. A lot better than last month anyway. Profits are high." Rhys replies, trying to ignore the feeling of Jacks hair tickling slightly at his neck.

"We're making money, good. That's my favourite thing to hear." Jack chuckles, suddenly raising his arm and snatching the apple from Rhys. He goes to protest, but is quickly silenced by Jacks thumb playing with his bottom lip.

"What's wrong with my side of the apple pumpkin? I don't have cooties. Scared that if you were to bite from the same part I did, it would be a form of kissing?" Jack purrs, a wicked grin flashing over his face. Moving from his shoulder, he stands in front of Rhys, his left leg going between Rhys's, pressing against his crotch slightly.

"J-Jack-" Rhys stammers , unsure on what to do in the situation he'd suddenly gotten into. Turning the apple onto the part where he'd bitten from, Jack looked down at it for a second, seeing the exposed flesh had already started to react with the oxygen in the air and become discoloured with a light brown. Bringing it up slowly, he presses the apple to Rhys's lips, just slightly so that the skin lingers on his lips. His other hand, goes to the back of Rhys's head, his fingers tangling into his hair to restrict and control his movements. Pushing his head forward, he forces Rhys to take part of the apple into his mouth, his teeth smoothing over the glossy red skin, until he brings him to a stop. Still unsure what to do and what is going on, Rhys keeps immensely still and looks to Jack for instructions, not wanting to disobey him or act without being told, considering the power he has over him right now.

"Bite down on it kitten." He orders, his voice suddenly dropping to a husked whisper. Sinking his teeth into the apples flesh, Jack pulls it back lightly, breaking some of the food off into Rhys's mouth. After a short silence and no movement, Jack's demeanour suddenly changes, grinning at his co worker and releasing his grip on him.

"Anyway Rhysie, I have a 'welcome back' meeting to get to," he begins, strolling away toward the elevator, "be good whilst I'm gone." He winks, stepping into the elevator and throwing the apple back to Rhys just before the doors close. Catching it, Rhys's eyes don't leave the elevator doors, simply in too much shock to move. Eventually pulling his eyes away, he looks down at the apple, the piece still held inside his mouth, and sees where he took a bite from, just a little bit further round from where Jack took his, so the two pieces formed into one similar to the figure eight... Or a snowman... What the hell just happened?

* * *

 

"Hey, I heard that there was an item that I was supposed to pick up?" Rhys questions the worker closest to him. He'd travelled down a good 40 floors to R&D to pick up a new weapon in development.

"Mr. Rhys sir! You didn't have to come all the way down here, we would've sent someone up with it!" The man stammers, worrying over the president.

"Nah its all good. I needed a break from the office so I though I'd come and have a snoop round here." He replies, remembering the apple back in the office. Suddenly getting butterflies in his stomach, he'd lost his appetite and thrown the apple into the trash can, calling the elevator soon after.

"Oh, ok, well the gun has just been finished and is about to go for testing, but you're welcome to look at it before hand." The man explains, leading Rhys over to a separate room with various other completed weapons either waiting for testing or for the infamous Hyperion colour to be sprayed on.

"That's fine. I'll take it up to the office to test it. Put the targets that Jack installed a while back to good use." Rhys laughs, admiring the gun as its laid in front of him. It was a similar to a revolver, but had three separate barrels, each holding elemental bullets. He'd lifted the idea from the blueprints of Fiona's gun. He'd always know that it was unique and he was intent to beat any other company to the sale. After asking her for basic blueprints, and receiving her permission, he'd sent it straight down to R&D for manufacture. Jack doesn't know anything about it yet.

"I wouldn't advise that sir. We don't know any of the faults or risks that might come with it. If it were to malfunction whilst you were using it-" the man begins to fret.

"Don't worry about it. I'll test it at my own risk. If anything happens, no one will get in trouble I promise." Rhys smiles warmly, taking the gun comfortably in his hand.

"But... What about Handsome Jack?" He questions, obviously worried about his safety. Which was fair enough. Jack was always looking for an excuse to kill someone and Rhys getting hurt would be as good as a reason as any.

"I'll make sure he doesn't hurt anyone." Rhys calls as he walks toward the door.

"O-Okay. Please tell us what you think or it sir! If there are any problems we need to know." The worker shouts back. Rhys waves a hand in acknowledgement as he exits the room and toward the elevator once again. Pressing the button for the office, he turns the gun in his hands. He'd never known or understood a lot about guns or the fascination for them, even though he works in the company that sells the most of them. It felt light and fitted well in the hand, the trigger and hammer were a comfortable distance apart and the three barrels moved swiftly when spun. Each one was lit brightly with their elemental colour. In all honesty, he was pretty excited to try this thing out. He hasn't shot a gun since being on Pandora and kinda missed the feeling of a trigger under his finger. The elevator eventually stops at his floor and, seeing the office is still empty, he flicks the switch by the desk. Sounds of mechanical arms moving, cogs turning and metal scrapping against metal fills the once silent room and five targets slide down from the ceiling, just in front of the window, which another sheet of glass moves over, to protect it should he miss the metal sheets. Lights spotlight onto the targets to give a better chance at hitting the bullseye and the room falls silent again. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Rhys stands a fair distance from the targets, spreading his feet apart, shifting his weight to keep him balanced. Bringing the gun up slowly, he holds one hand on the butt of the gun, the other wrapped around, his finger comfortably on the trigger. Breathing out again, its a more balanced breath and he lines it up with the first target. Firing, it hits a little off centre, but blue shocks of electricity spark and crackle from the point of impact, covering the whole target. Rhys can't wipe the grin from his face, the sudden jolt of energy he gets from firing a gun returning to him. The sparks calm and eventually stop, but the electricity could still be contained within the metal, so Rhys moves to another target. Spinning it to the next barrel, he looks down at the vibrant green radiating from the gun. As much as he'd love to use the corrosive bullet, he's fairly certain Jack won't appreciate him dissolving one of his targets. Trusting that it  works correctly, he turns to the next barrel and the orange light basks over his skin. Fire would be fun! He about to get ready to aim again, when he notices a separate button close to the hammer. Curiosity getting the better of him, he presses it and watches as the lights fade off and it looks like an average revolver. So... This has turned off the elemental effect? He didn't put that in the blueprints, but that's a pretty awesome add on. He'd go and compliment R&D when he returns it. Stabilising himself again, he begins the gun up and quick fires, already knowing what a normal bullet does. This was just for fun and to test his quick aim. However, there's the gut wrenching noise of metal bouncing off metal and a sudden pain in his shoulder, causing him to drop the gun and fall to one knee. Gripping his shoulder tightly, he watches as blood begins to trickle through the space in his fingers. No way. He's shot himself?! The bullet ricochetted and had come straight back at him! He hisses in pain and tears begin to prick at his eyes. The pain was immense! If he knew he hasn't turned off the elemental effect, he would've thought he'd have been shot with the fire bullet! Pressing his hand onto his shoulder more, he tries to slow the bleeding, but it didn't look like it was happening any time soon. Suddenly, he hears the familiar noise of the elevator.

"Got the targets out Pumpkin? Been doing some firing practice?" Jack calls out, his tone sounding slightly impressed, either at the targets actually being used or Rhys daring to hold a gun. Rhys tries to call out, but whimpers slightly at the sudden wave of throbbing pain.

"Rhysie?" Jack calls out again, awaiting his answer.

"J-Jack-!" Rhys manages to choke out. Picking up on the agonized tone, Jack instantly sets into motion. He kneels next to the younger man, forcing his hand from his shoulder. Blood smothers over his previously clean hand and begins to seep more into Rhys's new suit.

"Fuck kiddo, what happened?!" Jack questions, inspecting the fresh wound closely, digging his thumb into it a little harder than Rhys would've likes. He cries out in pain as he can feel a lump between his muscle and Jacks thumb.

"Shit the bullets still in there! We're gonna have to get meds up here to get it out properly." He mutters, standing and moving to the tannoy on the desk.

"I need medics up in my office NOW!" He orders, stress and panic picking away at his voice. His eyes quickly catch sight of the gun on the floor.

"What the hell is that? Is that from R&D?!" He seethes, suddenly finding the cause for Rhys's injury and a reason to strangle some people. Nodding, Rhys holds back his words Using his mouth to clench his jaw together in a way to dull the pain, or at least stop him from screaming because of it.

"I'm going to kill those idiots!" Jack growls, clenching his fists, probably imagining pummelling the crap out of some of them.

"No! D-on't, it's not t-there fault." Rhys breathes, becoming surrounded by medical staff. There's a silence whilst Jack think's over Rhys's words. Not fully believing that the incident had nothing to do with R&D, he chose to trust his words... for now.

"We'll talk about this later. For now, just let these guys take you down to the med centre and get the bullet sorted out. I'll get someone to clean up in here and then I'll come down to see you." Jack explains, his hand pressing against Rhys's cheek as he stands and follows the medics to the elevator, one of them keeping pressure on his wound.

 


	4. Phone Numbers

"Hey Pumpkin, how you holding up?" Jack asks, walking toward Rhys in the medical centre, a slight swagger in his step like always. Word had obviously gotten to him that his partner president was alright, otherwise Rhys was pretty sure he'd be walking a little quicker and have a worried expression plastered on his currently playboy face, just like he had back in the office.

"Fine. Aching a bit but I'm not dying." Rhys chuckles, sitting on the end of the bed, waiting to be discharged.

"Good to hear," he smirks, turning and fiddling with the protoype gun in his hand, "so, you gonna tell me what happened and who's to blame?" Jack continues, wanting to know why Rhys stopped him previously from throttling some of the R&D department.

"No ones to blame. The bullet just ricocheted off the target and I was unlucky enough to get hit by it." Rhys explains, honestly.

"Sooo... The guys in R&D, the guys who _made_ this gun, have nothing to do with the malfunction of the _same_ gun?" He questions, not fully believing the words coming from Rhys' mouth.

"No, there wasn't a malfunction. It was honestly just a bad shot on my part." Rhys argues, keeping his voice calm and smooth. After a few seconds of silence, Jack sighs in defeat, standing and placing the gun on the bed side table.

"Well cupcake, I don't believe you, but I'll leave it for now. I'm pretty sure those lot will piss themselves if I go down and tell them that you'd been hit by their gun, so I'll let you do it. Come back up to the office when you get discharged, 'Kay kitten?" Jack questions, rhetorically, and takes his leave, raising a hand as a final bid goodbye. Rhys' eyes move over to the gun and can't help but smirk when he see's the luscious red apple next to it.

"Rhys?! Are you ok?" Yvette's voice calls out, approaching him with Vaughn at her side.

"Yeah I'm fine." He smiles warmly, taking a bite from the apple.

"We heard you got shot! It wasn't... Jack-?" Vaughn begins, panic engulfing his voice.

"No, just a stray bullet from this thing. Standing in the wrong place at the wrong time." Rhys interrupts, before Vaughn could accuse his co worker. The sudden protectiveness that had kicked in over Jack surprised him.

"Oh sweet, is this the gun you made from Fiona's blueprints?" Vaughn grins, holding the gun delicately in his hands, totally forgetting that Rhys had been shot by it.  
"Yeah. I'm just about to give it back, gotta warn them about the normal bullets. Whether it was the metal of the targets or the bullets themselves, something caused it to ricochet, better to be safe than sorry." He explains, standing up when he sees a doctor approaching.

"You're all clear now Sir. We're discharging you." He smiles. Rhys thanks him and walks out of the medical ward with Yvette and Vaughn. Stepping into the elevator with the pair, Rhys presses the correct button which will take them down to R&D, taking a bite from the apple whilst he does so.

"I hate the guys in R&D, they're such insolent pricks." Vaughn mutters.

"Not all of them." Yvette corrects.

"Well, yeah, but a lot of them. They seem to think that because they make all of Hyperions products, that they're the ones that turn the cogs and there for demand high respect." Vaughn tuts.

"Bro, you don't have to come, you can stay in the elevator if they aggravate you this much." Rhys chuckles, taking yet another bite from the fruit.

"Nah, I wanna see their faces when they find their gun malfunctioned." He grins, eyes the bulk under Rhys's clothing on his shoulder where the new bandages and padding were. The elevator slows to a stop and the doors slide open.

"Mr Rhys sir! Welcome back! Did you test the gun?" The same man from previous calls out, jogging over to the president and his friends.

"I tested the electric effect and it worked fine. I didn't want to try out the corrosive because I'm certain Jack wouldn't approve of one of his new targets being destroyed already," Rhys begins, chuckling a little to relieve some of the tension between everyone, "but I found the button that removes the elemental effect. You might wanna change the bullet for that one." He finishes, dropping a little advice whilst handing the gun back.

"Oh god, it hit you?!" He chokes out, gripping the barrel of the gun tightly.

"Yeah, it ricocheted off the target. I was able to stop Jack from coming down and ripping your throat out, but I'm not sure about next time, so you might want to get it checked out." Rhys warns, walking back toward the elevator with Vaughn and Yvette.

"Thank you Sir! We'll get right on it!" He calls back, scurrying off behind closed doors.

"Oh god did you see the look on his face?" Vaughn laughs, tears pricking at his eyes, "priceless."

* * *

"Sorry Kiddo's, gonna have to cut this meeting short. My partner in crime has just returned." Jack chuckles, standing up and urging everyone out of the office.

"He's a grown man, he can take a few more minuets alone. This meeting is more important Jack!" One of the businessmen insists. Rhys swallows hard as Jack stops in his tracks. Rhys' eyes fall into the owner of the voice, a broad man with slicked back hair and a pompous attitude. He could already see the trouble he was in from the look of Jack's face. Shame, he was wearing such a nice suit too.

" _What,_ did you say? Maybe, I should shoot _you_ in the shoulder and see if you wanted to continue with this meeting!" Jack snarls, fists clenched and squaring up to the man. He instantly backs down, apologizing profoundly and quickly scurrying out of the room with the other five. Jack straightens up, smoothing his hair back and pulling on his jacket slightly, turning to face Rhys. He begins to stride toward the younger man, grabbing a small glass on water, which looked like it had been in the freezer for a couple of hours. The condensation on the glass shows how cold the contents are and outlines the droplets of water sliding down onto Jacks hand. Quickly gulping down the water, Jack seems to miraculously avoid any signs of brain freeze.

"What was that?" Rhys questions, unsure at why Jack made such an effort to down the drink.

"Ice water. Best thing to drink in the morning to keep awake, avoids the caffeine crash you can get from coffee." He explains, pressing the glass into Rhys's mechanical arm.

"Whatever works..." Rhys mutters, never really hearing of that method of sleep arousal before.

"Well its either that or I kill a man every morning. Figured I'd save the bullet." Jack replies, weighing out the options. Rhys resists the urge to voice a snarky comment and watches him round the desk and plonk down onto the leather office chair.

"How's the arm?" He asks, tapping the desk, inviting Rhys to sit down onto it.

"Fine, they used the laser thing so no stitches needed. Just gotta keep it padded to protect it from any more bumps and bruises." He replies, hoisting himself onto the varnished wood and looking down at his partner. He was referring to the laser down in the medical department that could close up fresh and small wounds. Lucky for him, after the bullet had been dug out, the damage wasn't as bad as it was feared.

"I took a closer look at the gun whilst you were getting fixed up. It actually looks pretty good, a few minor adjustments and it'll be perfect. D'you make it pumpkin?" He asks, after acknowledging Rhys' well being.

"Well, its Fiona's gun, she sent up the blueprints. I just edited them to make it... Better I guess." He replies, shrugging his shoulders a little.

"Well, you did really good kitten." Jack praises, squeezing Rhys' knee slightly. Rhys is slightly taken back by the compliment and also notes that Jack doesn't remove his hand, at most, it travels upward a little.

"Uh t-thanks." He stammers, feeling Jacks fingers rub in small circles on the material of his trousers, just hard enough that the same tickling, lewd, feeling transfers onto his skin. Heat slowly begins to pool down to his crotch, the tips of his ears sharing a little of the same heat. Why was he finding himself in such a knot of arousal right now? He should be finding it awkward, uncomfortable, to the point where he should be ripping Jacks hand away, standing from the desk and leaving to do _important_ work. But his eyes become slightly hazed at the tingling sensation coming from the older mans fingertips. Jack suddenly stands, both hands coming to rest of Rhys' knees and he leans into his personal space, eyes becoming fixed with those of his partners, who's just been shaken from his daze.

" _Really_ good kitten." He breathes, his face inching closer towards Rhys', his coifed hair brushing his co workers forehead. Rhys helps with the final few centimetres. Hesitantly, he pushes forwards slightly, as if Jack had a form of magnetic pull, and their lips brush against each others. Only for a split second, but long enough for them to seep in the heat from one another. Rhys' half lidded eyes scan over Jacks face looking for any indication at what was to happen next. If he was going to be killed for his actions, he'd prefer it not to be a surprise. To answer his question, a hand presses against his cheek, pulling him forward again and in for another kiss. A low groan rumbles in Jack's throat, one of want, not of anger. Parting his legs slightly, the masked CEO stands between Rhys' thighs, pushing his body flush against his. The noises of wet, messy kisses fill the previously silent room as Jack teases Rhys' lower lip between his teeth occasionally. Finally pulling away, Jack grins devishly at his counterpart, reaching into his back pocket to pull out a very sleek, very _expensive_ _,_ looking phone.

"All this time we've know each other and I still don't have your number cupcake." He purrs, holding his phone toward the younger man for his details to be submitted. Rhys still isn't exactly sure of Jack's interior motives, but he'd play along for now. There's got to be something behind all this right? Jack can't be acting like this all the time because he actually liked him... Rhys was just a nobody who'd worked his way to the top, the most respected man of Hyperion must have his eyes set on better people. After Inputting his number into the allocated contact space, he hands the mobile back to it's owner, receiving a sly grin as their hands brush against each others for a split second. Moving away from Rhys, Jack slips his phone back into his pocket and sits back down on the office chair, booting up the computer and beginning to start typing on a official, important document.

"You're free to go home now cupcake, I'm letting you go early. Rest up that arm of yours. I'll text you my number and details for Saturday." Jack says, his eyes fixed on the computer screen, his head resting on his hand.

"Saturday?" Rhys questions, feeling as if he'd missed an important part of the conversation.

"Oh, goin' a little head first there. You free on Saturday?" Jack asks, looking up at Rhys and the corner of his lip cocking upward slightly.

"Well yeah but-" Rhys begins, unsure at where this is leading.

"Wanna come to dinner? I know the perfect restaurant." He interrupts, he smiles a little too warmly than what Rhys was used to.

"S-Sure." Rhys stammers, his cheeks flushing red and his stomach twisting into embarrassed, happy knots.

"Awesome. I'll text you the time and I'll swing by to pick you up. Dress up nice for me kitten." He winks, returning back to his work afterwards. Rhys quickly files into the elevator and, once the door closes, releases the high pitched squeak escape his lips, conscious that any physical actions that he was to do would be seen through the glass by Jack. He was going on a date with _Handsome Jack_?!

 


	5. Date Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is pretty long for how quickly I posted it up, but I was really ill last night so I was up all night because I couldn't sleep in the first place. I hope y'all enjoy it ^^

"You're kidding right?! That's a five star restaurant! It takes some serious cash and reputation to get in there!" Yvette exclaims, shaking Rhys slightly by his shoulders, appalled that he'd never heard of the most talked about restaurant that Jack was taking him to.

"He _is_ dating Handsome Jack. If he couldn't get in, who could?" Vaughn reminds, his tone implying it should be perfectly obvious.

"Whoa there Vaughn, who said anything about dating? We're just going to dinner together." Rhys reminds, wanting to nip the impending rumours in the bud before they start spreading like wildfire around Helios.

"Yeah, dinner at an _expensive_ _five_ _star_ restaurant! He must be at least a _little_ interested in you to spend that type of cash and time on you." Yvette pokes, causing Rhys' stomach to flip. Could Jack really be interested in him? But he'd heard how much a playboy Jack could be, maybe Rhys was just the next in a long line of people he was trying to get in bed for a night.

"Let's just take it one step at a time okay guys? We're going for dinner nothing more, nothing less. Stop making it seem bigger than it is." Rhys calms, rubbing his wrists together to spread the smell of his cologne over his skin. Even if he was just another guy, it was his boss and _idol_ for cristsake. He wanted to smell and look his best for him.

"Well," he begins, pulling the cuffs of his blouse slightly to straighten the material out slightly, "how do I look?" He smiles, putting his hands on his hips, holding a confident stance.

"I didn't think you could top the new suit Jack made you get, but you have." Yvette giggles, brushing his shoulder to straighten him up a little more. The black blouse matched well with his black skinny jeans. He would've worn more formal trousers, but the new black ones he'd gotten from the fitting were covered in dry blood and the only other ones he has are his casual half pinstriped ones. So skinnies it was. They didn't look too casual which he was thankful for.

"You need to improve your fake confidence skills though bro." Vaughn points out. Instantly, Rhys' hands fall to his sides, his shoulders sagging and his whole posture slumping slightly.

"That bad huh? I'm so nervous it hurts... I think I'm gunna puke." He comments, squinting slightly at the waves of attacks from the vicious butterflies in his stomach.

"Understandable. You _are_ going to dinner with the man with probably the biggest growing kill list." Vaughn reminds, hopping onto the couch and slouching into the cushions.

"Not helping." Yvette hisses. Suddenly, the recognizable sound of an expensive, powerful engine rumbles up the street and comes to a stop outside the house.  Quickly abandoning their friend, Vaughn and Yvette crowd at the window, Rhys joining them, to spy on the billionaires car.

"That is one nice Firrari." Vaugh swoons at the shiny red car that's just pulled up by the kerb.

"250 GT California Spyder. Classic." Yvette identifies, nodding her head in appreciation. Both the boys look at her in slight surprise.

"I always thought Vaughn was the car guy." Rhys voices, a slight chuckle to his voice.

"Well you never asked. I know my fair share of motors." Yvette grins, proudly gloating her new information. Their eyes are dragged back to the window again when they hear the car door close with a thud. The breath catches in Rhys' throat the car was beautiful but... The man in a white waist coat and light blue blouse (and brown skinnies thank god!) rounding the vehicle and walking toward the house with a spring in his step was more attractive to his eye. The doorbell calls and, slipping a spare house key into his pocket, he opens the door before the bell can fall silent.

"Ready cupcake?" Jack smirks, eyeing his date up and down.

"Mm," Rhys nods, unable to form words, "s-ee you later guys." He calls to Vaughn and Yvette, his voice suddenly cracking on his first word. He grips his throat and his cheeks flush in embarrassment. Jack can't help but laugh at the noise, looping his arm around the younger mans waist as they walk toward the car.

"You dress up nice kiddo." Jack compliments, ushering the conversation along, opening the car door and inviting Rhys inside. Shutting the door, he rounds the front of the car, catching Rhys' eyes on him as he does so and shooting him a quick wink before getting into the drivers seat.

"I really like the thing you got going on with your hair as well. Suits you." He continues, his hand coming to Rhys' face and his fingers playing with the two strands on hair springing stray from his slicked back hair. When gelling back his hair, in an attempt to clean up even more than he already had, the two stand at the very front centre of his head decided to become rogue and bend the opposite way than he wanted. Even Yvette couldn't get them to go in the direction of the other strands. Needless to say that pissed both of them off more than it should've whilst Vaughn just laughed at the sight of the pair shouting at either Rhys' hair or the pot of gel.

"Thanks, trying a new look." He plays coolly, laughing slightly. Jack makes an appreciative noise in the back of his throat, before his eyes stray from Rhys to behind him.

"Your friends know I can see them right?" He chuckles, bringing Rhys' attention to the houses front window where Yvette and Vaughn are peaking through. Realizing they had been seen, the two instantly duck down, out of sight. Laughing at the clearly embarrassed look forming onto Rhys' face, Jack turns the key in its ignition and the engine rumbles into life, a slight shake of the chassis making it feel like it had just woken up and the car had kicked into life. Pressing his body into the leather seats, Rhys takes in the feel of the lush design and material around him. Who knew metal could be so beautiful!

"Like the car kitten?" Jack purrs, picking up the change in Rhys' posture and the look of drunken happiness spread across his face. Easing the handbrake down, the car rolls back on its wheels slightly.

"Oh-ho," Rhys chuckles, Jack thrusting the car into gear, almost a little too violently from his previous movements, and tilting his foot down onto the accelerator, "I like it."

* * *

"Don't scratch her." Jack warns, handing the keys to his car over to one of the restaurants valet. His arm comes to loop around Rhys' waist again as they start to climb the steps to the rather grand looking front door.

"Oh and put her in a safe spot, she'll be staying over night." He calls back over his shoulder.

"You're not going home after this?" Rhys questions, a little cautiously. He was really excited for the date an all, but he doesn't think he could handle the pressure of having Jack at his home just yet.

"Nah, I got some work to do down here so a buddy of mine is letting me spend the night." He answers, keeping it short and simple.

"Mr Handsome Jack, please follow me to your table." A rather pompous looking waiter greets, quickly leading the way across the floor to an elaborately laid table. He gave Rhys the once over, a rather un-tasteful look scrubbing into his features and he hands both of them a laminated piece of paper, laid in a leather casing.

"The wine list sirs." He announces, continue to stand by their table until each had chosen their preferred beverage.

"Albacore Shiraz for me." Jack requests, letting the list fall back to the table with a small thud.

"I'll just have a Chardonnay." Rhys decides, not too sure on all the posh named wines on offer. Best to stick with what you know.

"Very well sirs, I shall bring them out to you now," he begins, collecting the lists from them, "whilst you're waiting, please decided on your courses." He finishes, handing them another list each, shuffling off toward the kitchens.

"So then Rhysie, what d'ya think." Jack asks, gesturing to the restaurant as a whole.

"Its- um- very nice." He smiles warmly in return. In all truth he was a little out of his comfort zone. There were so many rich people around him that he could feel their eyes boring holes into the Back of his skull, judging how much 'lower class' he was. He'd rather be back on Pandora. At least there people don't judge you to kill you. Or wait for that matter.

"Is it too much? We can leave if you want-" Jack begins, obviously picking up the hesitation in Rhys' voice.

"No, its fine, honestly. I've just never been anywhere like this, so its a bit... Different." Rhys interrupts quickly, correcting his mistake, not wanting to ruin the date before it even began.

"I'm glad to here that," Jack chuckles, running his fingers through his hair smoothly, "but you can decide the next date pumpkin." He adds, understanding Rhys' discomfort.  
Next date? He did just say that right?! Was Jack asking Rhys out for a second date before they'd even had their first?! Silence falls on the two suddenly. The whole point of a date was to get to know each other. Find out if you were right for each other... But Jack had already seen all of Rhys' memories and life and Jack's life had been near enough documented. Well obviously there was his private life, but there was no way Rhys has the guts to ask about that. But they can't just sit here in silence.

"So-" both men begin in union. They chuckle at the awkward moment, both waiting for the other to speak. After a couple more seconds of silence, Jack smirks, looking down at the table.

"Well would you look at that... The first guy who has me at a loss for words." He mutters, his cheeks deepening by a shade.

"Your drinks sirs." The waiter returns, pushing a silver cart with a bowl of ice settled in the centre, cradling the two drink they'd requested. Two empty wine glasses get placed on the table and both get filled with fresh cold, wine.

* * *

"Where's your buddies house?" Rhys questions, leaning into Jacks side slightly. The date had gone a lot better than either had thought it would've. The food was amazing, as well as the wine, which Rhys feels like he may have had one glasses too many. He wasn't _drunk_ _,_ just teetering on the tipsy side. Jack had let him have a taste of his chosen wine, which was very hot and spicy, a little too much compared to his rather dry, woody one. But the atmosphere between the two... It only improved as the night moved on. They eventually did get talking about things and the night seemed to move a little too quickly for their liking. They were now walking away from the restaurant, toward Rhys' house, Jack offering to take him back on his way to his friends. The temperature had dropped way below zero and Rhys was mentally cursing himself that he didn't bring a jacket. But he had Jack so he was stealing at least a little warmth.

"About two street ago." Jack smirks, pulling Rhys in a little closer.

"Then what are you doing walking all this way? Go to his, its way to cold to go to mine and walk back again." Rhys insists, frowning a little at his partner.

"No way, I'm fine doing this walk with you kiddo." Jack argues, chuckling a little and the younger mans reaction. Rhys' feet come to a stand still and he pulls himself away from Jacks side, crossing his arms.

"I'm not moving another step until you turn your butt around and head to your friends house!" He announces, his five year old tantrum mode kicking in. When had he become so confident and relaxed around Jack the _he_ began giving _him_ orders?

"Darlin' you don't need to walk to get to yours," Jack smirks, suddenly knocking Rhys off his feet and hoisting him up into his arms, "I'll just carry you."

"Jack, seriously, put me down!" Rhys orders, flailing his limbs about slightly to make it harder for him to be carried. After a couple of steps, Jack eventually let's him down and sighs in defeat.

"You're a stubborn one aren't you kiddo. I'll leave you to it then." He breathes, watching Rhys' face instantly light up in victory, "just text me when you make it home. Thanks for coming out with me tonight." He continues, his voice dropping to a smooth whisper as he comes in close. The back on his hand brushes against Rhys' cheek, slowly bringing his head forward slightly, whilst the other begins to fiddle with the hairs on the back of his head. Finally, their lips press firmly against each others, bodies pressing flush against each others and eyes closing tightly shut.

"Night kitten." Jack bids farewell when they break away.

"Night Jack." Rhys manages to choke out, stunned by the amazing feeling of their hot lips merged together. Finally gathering his bearings, Rhys continues to walk down the street toward his and Vaughn's shared house. He'd gotten a text from Vaughn earlier saying that him and Yvette had gone out with some work friends and he probably wouldn't be back until late. So Rhys had the house to himself when he got back. Perfect to just relax in the calm and quiet. Maybe he'd have a bath... Eventually reaching his front door, he reaches to his back pocket to grab the key, when a sickening feeling tugs at his stomach. Checking his other back pocket, he ends with the same result. No key. He was locked out?! Checking under the mat, he begins to look for any key that might've been placed for emergencies. No such luck. Slumping down the door, he brings his knees close to his chest, burying his face on his jeans. He was tired and cold, trying to retain as much heat as he could by curling up on himself as tightly as he could get. Five minuets slowly turns into ten and ten into thirty, the cold slowly seeping up his fingers and toes, he teeth chattering unconsciously.

"Why the _hell_ didn't you call me?!" The familiar voice belonging to Handsome Jack questions, obvious anger in his tone. Pulling his head from his knees, Rhys' eyes lay on the man, standing folded armed at the bottom of the driveway.

"W-What are you do-ing here?" Rhys shivers, pulling his knees a little closer.

"I got a call from the restaurant about fifteen minuets ago, saying they'd found a key which they suspected belonged to my dinner partner. Which means you've been out here for _at least_ forty five minuets! Why the fuck didn't you call me to say you'd been locked out?" He explains, walking up the drive and toward the curled up form on the porch.

"I-I didn't want to b-bother you." He stammers, watching as Jack pulls out his lost key and unlocks the door, flicking the switches for the main lights.

"I'm not too busy for you, idiot." he mutter's, hoisting the younger man up into his arms. Rhys doesn't protest, just wraps his arms around Jack's shoulders to make it a little easier on him. Carrying him into the house, he shuts the door with his foot and carrying him across the carpet.

"You're freezing." Jack breathes, flipping on the kettle as he walks through the open floor space, past the kitchen.

"Which is your room?" He asks, stopping awaiting an answer.

"The back one." Rhys answers, snuggling his face into the crook of Jack's neck. After being taken to his Room, Jack sits him down carefully on the bed.

"Get changed into something warm, I'm gonna go and make you a hot drink and hot water bottle to warm you up." Jack instructs, making his way out of the door.

"Jack you don't... have...to." Rhys begins, his voice trailing of when he realises that Jack either can't hear him or isn't listening. Slipping into his Long sleeved pyjama t-shirt and trouser bottoms, he slips under the sheets, gathering them up around his body, cocooning himself in warmth. He could hear the clatter of cups and the sound of a metal spoon hitting against the side of a ceramic mug from the kitchen, which is shortly followed by his bedroom door reopening and Jack walking in, a mug of hot liquid in one hand, a red water bottle in the other. Setting the mug down on Rhys' bedside table, he places the water bottle under the sheets to where he thinks Rhys' feet will be and sits on the edge of the mattress beside him.

"Feeling warmer?" he asks, taking off his fairly casual dinner jacket that he'd worn this evening at draping it over the shivering body under the sheets.

"A bit." Rhys smiles warmly, burying further into the covers, his head pressing down into the pillows slightly.

"Good. I made you some chicken soup to warm you up. I would've made you a cup of tea, but I couldn't find the tea bags." Jack informs him, a slight chuckle to his words.

 "Thanks." Rhys murmurs embarrassedly, the smell of the mugs contents mixing into the air. Silence falls on the two, neither sure on how to comment on the situation, before Jack finally speaks.

"If this ever happens again, ring me dickface!" He snarls, clearly unimpressed that Rhys would sit in freezing temperatures than ring for help. Rhys is too embarrassed to speak, just buries his face further into the sheets. After feeling like he'd just been told off, Rhys is a little shocked to feel Jack's hands tangle within his previously gelled back hair, fiddling with it in a way which soothed him and slowly began to lull him to sleep.

"I'll stay here until Vaughn returns." he whispers, letting his partner drift into slumber.

 


	6. Illness and Popped Cherries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as you can probably guess by the chapter title, this chapter will feature some mature content. I have never written a phone sex conversation before so I hope it's ok XD

Rhys couldn't remember Sunday. It was just a blur of colours and noise. He's fairly certain that he was asleep for most of it though, only really leaving his bed to go to the bathroom. He hasn't even had anything to eat. The soup that Jack had made him before he fell asleep was still on the side, untouched, and it had been covered in the horrid skin that soup gets when it cools. Vaughn would come in occasionally to make sure he was comfortable and if there was anything he needed. Well, as comfortable as he could be with the cold sweat he had going on. This caused him to constantly keep kicking the covers off and trying to remove the pyjamas sticking to his skin, but Vaughn always stopped him and he wasn't overly sure why. It was beginning to get irritating.

"We need to get a doctor, this is ridiculous." Yvette declares, pulling out her mobile phone after standing in the doorway watching her friend writhe in bed. She'd arrived early Monday morning after getting a concerned call from Vaughn, saying that Rhys' condition had only gotten worse.

"No you don't." Rhys insists, his speech slightly slurred.

"Rhys, you don't realize how ill you are bro. I've never seen you this bad." Vaughn points out, waiting for Yvette to start her conversation with the doctor. After a few minuets of explaining Rhys' condition over the phone, a doctor had agreed to come over and check him over.

"I need to ring work and tell them I'm going to be late in." Yvette remembers, unlocking her phone again.

"You go, no point in both of us getting into trouble." Vaughn insists.

"Are you crazy? Our friend is seriously ill. I at least wanna know what's happening before I go up to Helios." She argues. It isn't long afterwards that the doctor arrives and begins a medical examination of Rhys. After about five minuets, the doctor is able to give a straight conclusion.

"You should've rang me earlier. You said that he'd been outside for a prolonged amount of time in the cold? Well he's slipped into a pretty serious case of Hypothermia. You can cure him at here, but I'll have to talk you through what to do." The doctor explains, leading Vaughn and Yvette out of the room.

"I'll get the explanation, you need to call Jack and tell him that Rhys isn't coming in today." Yvette insists, gesturing over to Rhys' phone on his bedside table.

"Why me?!" Vaughn whines, clearly not wanting to talk to the president of Hyperion.

"Just do it." She orders, exiting the room and shutting the door behind her.

"Heh, she's so bossy in these type of situations." Rhys smirks.

"Tell me about it," Vaughn replies, rolling his eyes and taking a hold of Rhys' phone. "Right. No biggy," he chuckles nervously, pressing Jacks contact and holding the phone to his ear, "I mean, he's just human right?..." He trails off. 

"Kitten! Where are you? Bit late to the office today aren't ya?" Rhys hears Jacks phone from the speaker.

"Um, Handsome Jack sir? This is Vaughn... Rhys' best friend?" Vaughn stammers, swallowing thickly in an attempt to hide his nerves.

"Abs-y? How you doin buddy? Why ya got Rhysies phone?" Jack replies, a cheerful tone to his voice.

"Um- Rhys won't be coming in today." Vaughn replies, getting straight to the point.

"Why, what's happened?" Jacks voice suddenly because worry stricken. Rhys smirks at the though of him sitting bolt upright in his chair from his usually laid back posture, feet up on the desk and back slouched against the back of the chair.

"Well- uh- he's really ill... Actually ill isn't even the word for what he is right now..." Vaughn hesitates, trying to find the best way to explain Rhys' condition.

"I'll be right down!" Jack insists, handing up before Vaughn can say another word. After hesitantly putting Rhys' phone back to where he got it from, he quickly exits the room, calling Yvette's name. Kicking the covers off himself again, Rhys stumbles from his bed, using everything around him to keep himself propped up and makes his way to the kitchen. Nobody notices his entrance until he flicks the kettle on, putting all his weight onto the counter top.

"Rhys what are you doing? You need to stay in bed!" Yvette orders, her voice strict and controlling.

"Relaxxx I just got up to stretch." Rhys slurs, stumbling back a little as the room tilts and his vision blurs slightly.

"You need to listen to your friend Rhys. Being up will only worsen your condition." The doctor warns, trying, with Vaughn, lightly push him back to his room.

"I don't want to!" Rhys argues, trying to push the pair off himself. Suddenly the doorbell rings and Yvette goes to answer it.

"Be careful with him, any harsh movements could make it worse." The doctor warns, taking a hold of his wrist and trying to lead him from the kitchen.

"He's in really bad shape. Be careful." Yvette's voice warns from the porch, shutting the door shut behind her. Rhys' eyes drag to the two shadows walking back into the house and his eyes lie on a very concerned Jack.

"What happened pumpkin? You're so pale." Jack questions, his face softening on the younger man.

"Mr Jack, maybe you can talk some sense into him, were not getting anywhere with him this way." The doctor sighs.

"I just have to be careful right doc?" Jack asks, walking toward them. Almost instantly after the doctor bids, Jacks hands encase Rhys' body lightly, pulling him up and gathering him in his arms. Pressing his forehead against his, Rhys' slow shallow breathes brush over Jacks cheek, his hands clutching the mans clothing frantically.

"Calm down kitten. Your alright. We'll get you to bed and I'll look after you until you're better. Sound good?" He soothes, turning and using his back to push open Rhys' bedroom door.

"Yeah." A raspy whisper replies.

* * *

His eyes open for a second and then close again, too heavy to stay open and seeing just enough light to put him off slightly. Trying again, his eyes only open a little, like small incisions in his skin, his body instantly protesting to the bright light from his window. Blinking a couple of time, he clears his vision, adjusting his eyes and waking his body up slowly. Groaning in the back of his throat as he moves, he realises how stiff his muscles are. How long has he been asleep? Moving his leg slightly, he comes into contact with something on the edge of his mattress. Dragging his eyes to the side, he finds Jack, head resting on the sheets, arms folded just above him and his body slumped forward.

"J-ack?" His voice cracking as his throat hurts from being so dry. Shifting his head to the side slightly, Jack's eyes flutter open and his pupils constrict from the sudden flood of light entering his vision.

"Good to see ya awake kiddo. How you feeling?" He breathes, tiredly, sitting up and stretching his arms out.

"Better." Rhys smiles warmly, propping himself upright with pillows and yawning.

"Good to hear." Jack smiles, running his fingers through Rhys' hair, playing with some of the individual strands sticking up from various random parts of his head.

"Kinda hungry though." Rhys chuckles, sheepishly.

"You and me both Kitten, c'mon," Jack begins, pausing to lift the younger man into his arms, making sure to keep hold of the blanket on top of his duvet, "Let's get some chow." He finishes, making his way toward the kitchen.

"I-" Rhys starts, but is quickly cut off by Jack.

"If you say anything about walking, I'll drop you on your arse right now." He warns, the slight playful tone letting Rhys no it was out of care, not anger. He quickly shuts his mouth and tightens his hold around Jack. In all honesty, Rhys liked being carried by the older man, it reminded him that Jack did care and that, on the inside, he wasn't just a sadistic ass hole. Well... to him at least. He sets him down on the kitchen counter, wrapping the blanket around Rhys' shoulders, making sure to cover any exposed skin. Gathering the blanket in his fists, Rhys grips the blanket tightly, pulling it closer to his body.

"So, what you in the mood for Babe?" Jack questions, putting a bit of emphasis onto 'babe', causing Rhys to blush slightly. Feeling his cheeks heat up, he brings the blanket up slightly, trying to hide his face enough to hide the obvious red flush, but subtly enough that it won't draw Jack's attention.

"Umm, maybe just cheese and toast for now..." he answers, not to sure if he'd gotten his appetite back just yet. He didn't want to push his luck, in case his stomach protested against it.

"Sure thing honey." Jack winks, obviously picking up on Rhys' embarrassment and deciding to cause some more. Rhys watches happily as Jack moves throughout the kitchen, collecting the small amount of ingredients that he needed, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere and the man that he'd idolised for so long make him breakfast.

"Thanks Jack." Rhys smiles, taking the plate with two slices of cheese and toast on.

"Sugar?" He asks, putting a teabag into a mug, whilst throwing some heaped spoons of coffee into another. Switching the kettle on, he gets the milk from the fridge and leans on the counter.

"Two please." Rhys replies, taking a bite from his toast. He makes a satisfied noise in the back of his throat as the melted cheese soothes over his tongue and down his throat when he swallows the food.

"Enjoying that kitten?" Jack smirks, pouring boiling water from the kettle into the two mugs, the steam floating up and causing some heat to soothe over Rhys' face. He nods his head furiously, not wanting to take a break in devouring the delicious toasted bread.

"Breathe darlin'" jack chuckles, pushing Rhys' tea across the work top toward him, whilst taking his own and leaning on the opposite counter.  
"You're such a good cook!" Rhys murmurs between mouthfuls of his breakfast.

"It's only cheese and Toast." Jack reminds, laughing cheerily. But it wasn't just _cheese_ _and_ _toast_! Jack had managed to cook each side of the bread with just enough time that neither side had burnt and it was that rare golden colour (well rare in Rhys' case anyway) and the right amount of cheese had been sprinkled onto that it melted smoothly, without flooding his mouth with too much of the tangy taste that he couldn't taste the bread any more. No, this wasn't _just_ cheese and toast, this was _heaven_ _!_  
"Its good to see you've got your appetite back anyway." Jack breathes, relief slowly flooding his system. Rhys cocks his head to the side slightly, mid bite, confused at Jacks words, but smiles none the less.

"Heh, this probably sounds stupid, but... For a second... I thought I was gunna lose you." Jack sighs, take a swig of coffee, looking down at the floor as if meeting Rhys' eyes would show his embarrassment. Slowly closing his mouth, Rhys puts the toast back onto his plate, straightening his head back upright. He didn't know that Jack had gotten so worried about him. It was obvious that Rhys wasn't just the next person that Jack wanted in bed, why would he try so hard to get close to him and look after him whilst he was ill if he was. Besides, if Jack just wanted a quick fuck, Rhys is pretty sure that he'd only have to snap his fingers and, along with the threat of losing their jobs or going out of an airlock, he could get anyone to consent to it. But that Jack had seemed like a distant memory lately. All Jack had shown Rhys was kindness. It was fairly refreshing. Other than Vaughn and Yvette, everyone else at Helios was just in it for themselves and probably wouldn't think twice about stabbing you in the back. Jack still had his reputation to uphold, so he still made the unnecessary threats, but there hadn't been a forced death for at least a week on Helios. Jacks personal record. So what had changed?

"I gotta admit Rhysie, when I first got into your head back on Pandora, I was only putting up with you because you were my only ticket back to my Presidential seat on Hyperion. But... You managed to pull me in. You're just an interesting and refreshing presence to be around." Jack explains, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. After a few seconds of silence, Rhys finally speaks.

"Well your not losing me any time soon, so maybe we can continue to get to know each other." He grins, picking his toast up again and munching off the corner.  
"Hah, yeah... I'd like that." Jack smirks, taking another shot of coffee.

* * *

It had stretched all the way to Saturday before Rhys finally felt like himself again. Jack had dismissed himself after being assured that Rhys could now look after himself. Before he left he'd mumbled something about all the piled up paperwork that was bound to be stacked on the desk and it was gonna be a difficult Monday... Fun... After changing the dirty, ill feeling bedsheets, Rhys was now stretched out in his fresh covers, happy to finally be virus free. Glancing over to the digital clock, yawning as he read 1:47am, he turns onto his side and begins to try his decent into slumber, for the third time tonight, before he's interrupted by the buzz of his voice against the wooden bedside table. Reaching over, he unlocks the mobile and reads over the latest notification. Jack.

'Aren't you lucky. You got to spend the whole week with me!' He reads. Rhys could imagine his cocky voice now, emitting from smirked lips and a cocked eyebrow. He can't help but scoff.

'Yeah, lucky. So lucky that I spent most of the time seriously ill. My hero.' He types, sending the message whilst quietly giggling to himself. It wasn't long before the phone vibrates against his mattress and he's reading over another of the mans messages.

'Well, you know me kitten. Self made hero! ;)' oh god that was so cheesy! Glancing back to the clock, its had quickly passed to 2:12am. Vaughn had gone to bed ages ago, saying he wanted to get some sleep before him, Rhys and Yvette went to the new club opening tomorrow night.

'You able to call me?' He replies, not overly found of how much typing will be in this inevitably long conversation. Barely a minuet after, his phone vibrates a consistent three buzz's with a shirt break after. Answer the call, he turns onto his side pulling the covers closer to his face. If anyone could send him to sleep, it would be Jack. His voice soothed Rhys so much that he's fairly certain he could listen to him all day.

"What's up baby?" His voice channels into Rhys' ear through the phones speaker.

"I just couldn't be bothered to text. I've been asleep nearly all week, I wanna chat." Rhys replies, unconsciously smiling when he hears the other mans voice.

"What about me? I could be _so_ t ired after looking after you and you want to keep me awake?!" He whines playfully.

"I'm pretty sure _you_ messaged _me_ first." Rhys reminds, a small laugh to his tone. After a slight pause Jack gives in.

"True," He laughs, "so what you up to pumpkin?" He asks, a slightly, unintentional growl in the back of his throat.

"Nothing, talking to you... What are you doing?" He replies, trying to stifle his laugh at the strange noise he just heard from the other end of the line.

"Oh-hoh... Y'know, stuff." He purrs, his voice suddenly dropping into a husky tone.

"Jack, no... Are you...?" Rhys stutters, suddenly understanding Jack's subtle, suggestive hints.

"What can I say, your voice is so sexy!" He growls, causing Rhys to blush and slightly regretting answering the phone. It was just awkward to talk now, knowing that his voice was being found 'sexy' made him conscious of his words.

"Which reminds me, you ever done phone sex?" Jack asks and Rhys can already see his face lighting up with excitement and ideas.

"N-No." He stammers. He'd hear of it, but never fully understood it. It wasn't really a main topic for conversation.

"Never? Someone so cute has never been phone fucked?" Jack questions, a little surprise in his voice.

"I- wait... What?" Rhys frowns, confusion invading his system. He'd never engaged in phone sex before sure, but 'phone fucked' doesn't exactly sounds like the right term for it... But he wasn't going to correct someone on something that he didn't know anything about.

"Awesome! So this could be like, your first time or, whatever. Can I pop your phone sex cherry kitten?" He asks, excitement building up in his voice. This was probably the weirdest conversation Rhys had ever had... And hanging around the people that he does, it has a high bar to reach. However, curiosity was slowly nibbling away at him. Phone sex with Handsome Jack...

"Y-yes." He breathes, swallowing hard, preparing for anything that Jack might throw at him.

"My shirt is so tight around my biceps." Jack comments, shifting in his chair. If Rhys didn't know what Jack was trying to engage, he would've thought it was just a passing comment and they'd move on to the rest of their conversation. But he knew what Jack wanted. His mouth goes dry and he licks his lips to re wet them.

"I could undo the buttons for you..." Rhys replies, as sexily as he can.

"Don't force it kiddo. Get comfortable and just relax otherwise its not natural. Describe details as you go as well. Like; 'I could unto the buttons for you, letting my fingers smooth over your bare chest as I go'." Jack instructs, causing Rhys' cheeks to flush with heat again.

"O-okay- um-" he stammers, not sure where to pick the conversation up from here.

"Here, let's start it again. I'll lead you into it kitten." Jack proposes, trying to make it as easy and comfortable for the younger man as he could.

"I've been thinking about you all night cupcake." Jack breathes, his voice dropping into a husky tone to set the mood.

"What about me have you been thinking about, Mr Handsome Jack?" Rhys asks, slowly getting into the swing of things.

"There ya go kiddo, you're getting it," Jack assures, his voice getting out of character for a second, "Oh, all of you baby, but mostly that hot ass of yours. Just imagining fucking it." He continues, causing Rhys to bite his lip slightly, imagining the image in his head. Just being bent over Jacks desk, pressed under his frame and submitting to his every touch. It causes him to shiver slightly.

"Oh Jack, I'd let you," Rhys moans slightly, turning onto his back, the tent in his boxers making it uncomfortable to lie on his side, "I'd lay spread eagle on your desk for you." He adds, his hand gliding over his stomach slightly, causing him to suck in a breath as his fingers tickle his skin.

"Shit kiddo," Jack hisses at the sudden sexy confidence Rhys had gained, "you like sex at work huh?" Back chuckles, the though of Rhys' exposed flesh pressed against the varnished wood of the oak desk.

"We can move this to the bedroom if you want?" Rhys offers.

"Nonono. I never said sex in the office was a bad thing. I kinda like the idea of you on your knees by the office chair, begging to suck my cock. You would beg wouldn't you darlin'?" Jack teases, a slight growl to his voice as he palms himself.

"Oh god yes, I'd beg so much." Rhys moans, his own hand reaching under the fabrics to touch the sensitive flesh.

"Go ahead then Rhysie. Beg me. Tell me how badly you wanna suck me off." Jack purrs, the sound of his belt buckle being undone in the background.

"I want to suck you off Jack. I want to feel your big cock in my mouth!" Rhys complies, his hips shifting slightly as heat pools down to his crotch.

"Compliments won't get you anywhere kitten. I said beg." He reminds, enjoying the reactions he was getting from the other man.

"Please... " Rhys trails, his words suddenly failing him. Jack would've preferred mode from him, but he let's it slide, its his first time after all.

"No way. I told you that I've been thinking about that ass, and that's what I'm going to do-your ass. I'm going to fuck you, and you'll be begging for me to never stop." Jack growls, causing Rhys' boxers to be stripped and discarded somewhere amongst the bedsheets.

"Oh god Jack, please just fuck me already!" Rhys whines, his body getting hotter with each second that passes.

"You have to open your legs a bit for me princess." Jack soothes.

"J-Jack... Please -ngh- stop teasing." Rhys moans, his hand wrapping around his erection and slowly picking up pace.

"But I love teasing you. Its no fun to just stick my cock straight in your ass. I'd push a finger in first, moving it just enough so you'd be begging for more, then I'd push another up, parting them slightly which would make your body ache in ecstasy." Jack purrs, knowing full well that nothing he was saying was innocent, but trying to put a façade on anyway. Rhys can't stop another moan escaping his lips as pre-cum has already slipped down his cock and he can already feel his impending orgasm pitted in his stomach.

"Only after I'd finger fucked you would I put my big cock in your ass and fuck you _hard_ _._ " He moans.

"Oh god Jack, I'm gonna cum." Rhys moans. His breathing laboured and restricted. There's a stretch of time where there weren't any words, their conversation had stopped, and it had been replaced with grunts and moans as both men push themselves to the brink listening to each others voices and noises. Rhys body collapses fully onto his mattress, his eyes looking into the dark space of his ceiling, his heavy breathing the only noise in the room. A couple of minuets pass as the two collect themselves again.

"Jack... That was.. Fuck!" Rhys sighs, his body aching post orgasm.

"You were so good kitten. That was the best phone sex I've ever had." He chuckles, "you need to get some sleep anyway. I'll catch ya soon. G'night." Jack finishes, his calm voice soothing into the shell of Rhys' ear.

"Night Jack."

 


	7. Sweet Toxic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty cute fluffy chapter this time. I wanted to kinda introduce Rhys' past and family life a little in this one. I always read fanfics that have Jack with the sad background and Rhys' with the happy one, so I kinda wanted to shake it up a little and have a pretty heavy background for him instead. Most likely in either the next chapter or the one after, I'll go into full detail about his past life...

"Hurry up bro, Yvette's waiting outside for us!" Vaughn calls as Rhys slips his jacket up his arms and shrugs into onto his shoulders.

"Calm down, I'm ready. You got the keys?" Rhys asks, heading for the door. After forgetting his keys at the restaurant and being ill for the week, it was decided that Rhys would no longer be in charge of the house keys.

"Yep. C'mon let's go!" He replies, excitement bubbling in his voice as he locks up after both men have left the house.

"Finally! Y'know the meters still running while I wait here for you." Yvette complains, referring to the taxi cab parked on the kerb next to her.

"I'll pay you back on Monday." Rhys offers, following her into the backseat of the veichle, Vaughn pulling up the rear and shut the door after himself. Yvette tells the driver their destination and he swiftly pulls into the street, turning a corner onto the main road. The three had been able to snag tickets to the opening night of the new nightclub at the entertainment district of town. After a twenty minuet drive, the cab pulls up to the building illuminated with purple lights and the name 'Opulent' written in gold, swirled writing above the door. The music was already pounding out of the doors and two, fairly intimidatingly, bouncers stand at their posts. Flashing the three tickets toward them, the small group of friends is allowed passage to the club. Scanning the from, Rhys' eyes are flooded with coloured lights and darkened figures crowding the dance floor in front of the DJ booth. Neon lights line the edge of the flooring, steps and railings. Multicoloured floor tiles flash to different colours to the beat of the music and the bar in the fair right corner is highlighted by a bright orange glow.

"C'mon we only just got here! Get on the dancefloor with me!" Yvette shouts, her voice barely audible over the heavy music, catching the two men eyeing the bar. She grabs the back of their shirts and pushes them forwards toward the crowd of people. It was so packed it was difficult to get through, but they eventually found a small empty patch and occupy it before anyone else can get there.

"This is already so much better than the other club down the street." Vaughn grins, obviously not bothered by the tight, claustrophobic spaces and the many eyes around the room.

"Rhys, what's up?" Yvette questions, noticing that he's the only one on the dancefloor who isn't actually dancing. He stands stock still, his robotic arm gripping his opposite arm, his eyes scanning over some of the surrounding people.

"I-I can't dance." He stammers, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He was so excited for trying this new club and he was backing out because he couldn't pull a few moves?

"When's that ever stopped you?" Vaughn laughs, remembering some of the times Rhys had got a little drunk and ending up doing some of the most ridiculous dances.

"What did you come here for then?" Yvette teases, laughing at her awkward friend, ignoring Vaughn's comment.

"The bar." Rhys replies sheepishly. He'd heard that the drinks that were gonna be at this club would be some of the best drinks a club could offer. He'd always loved the crazy concoction's these places came up with.

"Oh god Rhys. C'mon just dance with us!" Yvette complains, pulling a slightly unimpressed look toward him.

"No, I'm gonna go to the bar. I said I can't dance." He replies, the small space overpowering him and his body not wanting to stand it anymore.

"Nonsense Kitten, just loosen up." A familiar voice breathes into the shell of his ear. It was so clear compared to everyone else's, His voice seemingly overpowering the music. Hands slip onto his hips and a hot mouth presses to the crook of his neck.

"Jack? What are you doing here?" Rhys asks, turning in the mans arms and eyeing him surprised.

“It’s a new club princess, I needed to come here. Scout out if this is gunna be my new chill zone when I’m not up on Helios… And I heard you’re two friends talking about coming here during the week if you felt any better.” He grins, pulling the younger man closer, causing there hips to hit against each other and Jack to loom over him slightly.

“I-I didn’t know you liked to go clubbing.” Rhys stammers, one hand wrapping around the other mans shoulders for balance, his other hand gripping lightly to his smooth material grey jacket.

“Same goes for you pumpkin. I thought you’d be the type to sit at home with a movie, possibly jack off to the stash of ‘motivational posters’ you’ve got somewhere around your house.” Jack teases, recalling the conversation him and Vaughn had back on Pandora, a hand coming up to catch Rhys' chin when he tries to turn away.

“I wouldn’t mind curling up in front of the TV right now.” Rhys mutters, thankful the dark room is illuminating his face in various neon colours, hiding the red cheeks he’d probably gotten.

“I wouldn’t mind joining you.” Jack purrs, his thumb rubbing Rhys’ skin as it continues to rest on his chin. Rhys drags his eyes back to the man, interested in the obvious impending date, willing to take him up on the offer right now.

“But, we’re here now, so we might as well enjoy ourselves. Dance with me baby.” He grins deviously, making a small space between them and him body moving, flowing seemingly effortlessly with the music. Rhys can’t help but watch in awe at the amazing dancer in front of him.

“You’re on a dancefloor Kitten. The clues in the name.” Jack urges, grabbing Rhys’ hand when he continues to stay stood still. After a few minuets of coaxing him into it, Jack had finally managed to get Rhys to start dancing, shifting them over toward Vaughn and Yvette again.

“I don’t know what you were worried about darlin’, you’re a good dancer.” Jack compliments, his eyes rarely leaving his partner.

“D-Don’t.” Rhys stutters, suddenly feeling uncomfortable again as more people push themselves onto the dance floor, invading his personal space. he’s knocked forward by one of the other clubbers, Jack’s arms gripping onto his shoulders being the only thing stopping him from falling flat on his face.

“Hey, dickface! Watch what you’re doing!” Jack seethes, grabbing the culprits attention.

“I’m gonna head out for a bit. It’s getting too crowded in here for me.” Rhys calls over to Vaughn and Yvette. They nod in understanding, knowing how much Rhys struggles with tight spaces. Pushing his way through the crowds of people, he’s finally able to tumble out of the doorway and breathe in the fresh cool nights air. It had gotten so stuffy in there, smoke machines making visibility slightly poor and the flashing lights and banging music giving him a head ache. He leans up the wall in the clubs outdoor space. Being as everyone was enjoying the fun inside, barely anyone was outside. A couple of smokers, some occupied tables with people getting intoxicated with the clubs unique drinks and he was pretty sure the couple in the far right corner were making out.

“Hey, I got you a drink. Figured you’d need one.” Jack’s voice soothes, exiting into the garden with a lot more ease than Rhys did, a toxic green drink in his left had and a deep mauve one in the right.

“Thanks.” Rhys smiles lazily, tiredness suddenly hitting him. He takes the purple drink form the older man and takes a sip, as Jack leans up the wall next to him. Flavour floods his mouth. A strong taste of plum is first to hit his taste buds, but that fades into blackcurrant almost as quickly as it came. It finally transitions into a sweet grape, the distinct taste of alcohol accompanying it. He purses his lips at the sudden sweetness, not really expecting that many flavours in such a short amount of time.

“Too much Pumpkin?” Jack chuckles softly, taking a quick swig of his own drink.

“Sweet.” Rhys laughs, taking another sip so to tell Jack that he liked it.

“Suits you.” Jack soothes, his head falling back slightly to rest on the wall.

“Don’t get cheesy. What’s yours?” Rhys warns, eyeing the green liquid.

“I don’t think you like this one baby.” Jack smirks, holding it out to the younger man anyway. Taking a small mouthful from the glass, Rhys lets the flavour spread around his mouth, before his face quickly contorts into one of disgust, swallowing quick before taking a large gulp of his own beverage. Jack doubles over in laughter, his eyes tightly screwed shut and a hand clutching his stomach.

“Oh god, kiddo! That was priceless!” He humours, finally composing himself slightly and straightening up.

“Jezus! How can you drink that?! It’s so sour!” Rhys complains, sticking his tongue out as if the air would dispel the burning taste that still lingers on it. A few seconds of silence pass between the pair, neither sure what to say, sipping at their drinks awkwardly. Rhys brain was banging too hard against his head to think up a conversation and Jack was pretty sure there was something up with the kid, as his mood seemed to flip instantly as soon as that guy bumped into him, but he didn’t want to push. 

“I suppose, this is kinda like, out second date.” Rhys mutters, uneasiness tinting his voice, incase he was wrong and Jack didn’t want to class this as a date. After the last one, he wasn’t even sure if Jack wanted to continue to have a relationship like this.

“Yeah I guess it is,” Jack smirks, a hand running through his well coiffed hair, “But, I wouldn’t mind doing that movie night with you. What day’s say Rhysie, wanna have out third date on Wednesday?” Jack offers, looking over to him and smirking mischievously.

“We’re- um- we’re at work on a Wednesday…?” Rhys reminds, not really certain at how he could forget or what he was hinting to.

“Well, yeah I know, but I mean after. When we clock off, I’ll take you back to mine and we can have a movie night in. Popcorn, Cola and blankets on the couch.” Jack replies, closing the small gap between them, so their shoulders but together and Jack’s weight leans onto Rhys slightly.

"Sounds good to me." Rhys grins, his face lightening up in excitement.

"Maybe then, you could stay the night and," jack begins, pushing himself off the wall and standing in front of the other mans lithe body, his voice dropping to a husky whisper, "you could live up to that phone conversation we were having last night." He finishes, his left leg pushing in between Rhys', his thigh pressing into Rhys' crotch slightly.

"After or during the movie?" Rhys breathes, their faces getting closer, their lips almost touching.

"Oh-ho Kitten, both." He smirks, hovering his face just centimeter away from Rhys', so they can only see each others eyed and their lips would occasionally brush on certain words. Finally, Jack closes the gap between them, their lips merging into each others, teeth clicking against teeth and tongues sliding last each other. Rhys' hands sliding into Jacks arburn hair, holding onto it as Back lips begin to work down his neck, pinching the skin between his teeth and sucking to earn some more satisfying moans from the younger man. Reaching his collar bone, Jack circles his tongue in the crevease between the two pieces of bone, before moving his lips slickly back up his skin to crash into his redenned lips again. One of his hands slips up Rhys' previously crease free shirt, pushing it up and gliding his hand over his smooth bare skin. Rhys can't stop himself from sucking in his stomach slightly as the fingertips on his stomach tickle him lightly. Sweet and sour begin to mix as the taste from the two drinks mix between their mouths, adding another experience to their make out session.

"Hey Rhys, you'll never guess who's just shown up!" Vaughn's voice suddenly interrupts. Rhys quickly pulls away from Jack, who continues to hold him in his arms, to see his friend standing stock still with Yvette and two familiar faces.

"Well... That was something I didn't need to see." Sasha murmurs, folding her arms as everyone looks on slightly awkwardly.

"Sasha, Fiona. Its great to see you! Wh-what- what are you doing here?" Rhys stammers, an awkward chuckle added to his voice.

"We got invited up. I know the owner of the club, so we took closest fast travel up." Fiona explains, trying to bring the atmosphere back to normalization again.

"You know the owner? That's so cool!" Rhys exclaims, trying overly hard to act normal. Awkward silence passes amongst the group.

"So," Sasha begins, breaking the quiet, "I guess you weren't joking when you said you had Handsome Jack riding shot gun in your brain huh?" She finishes, eyeing the man who currently still had his hands all over Rhys' body.

"Haha, yeah, um... Sasha, Fiona, this is Jack... Jack, this is Fiona and Sasha." He introduces, involving the older man in the conversation. Pulling away, Jack straightens up and stands in front of the girls and greets them as best as he can. Throughout their whole journey on Pandora, Jack was the one who struggled to trust these two the most. He constantly made refrenece to bandits, saying they had the looks, actions and probably motives of the scum on Pandora. Not that Fiona and Sasha thought very highly of him either.

* * *

"No way! We always got told that was just a meteor!" Sasha exclaims, setting her drink on the table as she leans forward slightly in amazement.

"Nah, I shifted the rocket out of the way of Pandora when one of Helios' psychopaths decided to send one shotting off in your direction." Jack repeats, a slightly chuckle at the younger girls awe.

"So how'd you get back? I mean just a couple of month ago, the story was you were murdered on Pandora. How are you sitting here now?" Fiona questions, wanting to know and understand the business side of things.

"I got lucky and a, different, psychopath saved some of me, somehow, onto a memory drive. Rhysie carried me around in his head since after he plugged it into his periferal port. Carried me all the way back up to Helios and then went through a six hour surgery to bring me back." Jack explains, without hesitation, his hand raising to run through the back of Rhys' hair. He leans into the touch, happy that everyone was finally getting along.

"I hope you at least thanked him for that!" Sasha laughs, her arms folding across her chest.

"Well I did look after him for the whole of last week when he got hypothermia." Jack replies, smirking as Rhys' eyes rest on his face his cheeks flushing in embarresment at the memory.

"Hypotherimia?! Ouch that's a nasty one. Didn't your family look after you?" Fiona asks, not really thinking about her words before they left her mouth. The mood instantly changes and silence falls of the group as Rhys tries to figure out what to say.

"My family died when I was younger. There was a serious accident involving a skag. When I came to, my arm was gone and my parents and little sister had passed away." Rhys explains. This was a twisted version of the true, but its the version he always told. The actual truth was too difficult for him to put into words. Vaughn and Yvette are the only ones who know what happened when he was a kid, so they both share sympathetic glances to each other, knowing Rhys preferred to avoid the subject of his family life.  
"I-im sorry, I didn't mean to-" Fiona stammers, guilt riding up on her.

"Its fine, don't worry about. Its happened." Rhys smiles warmly, trying to bring the mood back up again. Pulling something from his pocket, Jack stands and opens the small box hes just received. Slipping a cigarette between his lips he grabs a lighter from his pocket.

"I'm going for a smoke." He announces, heading over to the the designated smoking area of the garden.

"I didn't know Jack smoked." Yvette mutters, taking a glance at the CEO.

"Neither did I. Did you Rhys?" Vaughn asks. Rhys shakes his head, his eyes trained on Jack and the older man leans up to the wall, a hand coming in front of his face so he can like the cigarette. Pulling from my his lips, he breathes out, tilting his head upward and smoke escapes through his slightly parted lips.

"Maybe he does when he's pissed off." Vaughn suggests, worrying nibbling away at his voice.

"That'd be all the time then wouldn't it?" Sasha sniggers, recalling how many stories started with Jack being irritated and resulted in it too.

"Some people smoke only when they're out with friends. Could be the same with Jack." Fiona points out, taking the final few drops of her drink. Rhys stands and leaves the table, walking over toward the man leaning up the smoothed bricks. Jacks eyes fall on Rhys before he even gets half way to him.

"She's right, I only smoke when I'm out," Jack assures, noticing the look of concern on Rhys' face, "and after really good sex." He smirks, slipping in a sly wink which causes his partner to blush. Jack pulls Rhys to his side by his hip, nuzzling his nose into the crook of his neck. Leaning his head on Rhys' shoulder, he takes another drag from his cigarette.

"You're not embarresed by me are you?" He questions, the smoke drifting out of his mouth as he spoke.

"What? No! Why do you think that?" Rhys asks, looking down the the man, slight anger in his tone.

"Earlier, you just seemed to find everything really awkward. You pulled away really quickly from me." Jack recalls, his eyes fixed at one of the purple lights centered on a vacant table.

"Jack, we got caught making out. I'd be embarresed and find the situation awkward no matter who I was with." He replies, a low chuckle with his words. Rhys pulls away from there older man, taking his face in his hands and angling him so they're looking directly at each other.

"I'm not emabressed by the relationship we have with each other." Rhys soothes, pulling their faces together and merging their lips with each others. Leaning into the kiss, Jack smirks against his lips, feeling the eyes of various people around the garden, especially the group of his friend still sitting at the table. Yeah the kid showed he wasn't embarresed by kissing him in front of all these people, but Jack has to admit, kissing him in front of Sasha and Fiona, who he's pretty sure still don't like him, was a fairly ballsy move. Its was the first time in a long time he could actually feel those butterflies redirect and move in his stomach again.

 


	8. It Only Takes a Hug

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda wanted to give Jack a little bit of a sad moment in this chapter. I didn't dwell on it two much as it's a topic that gets written a lot in fanfics. It has just enough writing to show that he's changed a little because of Angel. Like I said in the last chapter, I want Rhys' to have the sad and dark past in this story, just to give my fic a little variety. Rhys' character, compared to Jack's, is rarely explored, so I wanna take that opportunity.

Stepping out of the elevator, Rhys stretches his arms upward and a yawn forces its way through his lips. Shaking it off, he enters the office and the first thing that catches his eyes is Loader Bot.

"Whoa buddy, looking good! When d'you get the new paint job?" He questions, looking the robot up and down. His once worn, dirty yellow paint, that was peeling a the the edges, was now a sleek shiney black, the torso section painted with a triangle of white to make the illusion of his wearing a tuxedo.

"Jack called the mechanics this morning when he got back." He replies, the red eye looking down at the human, it shifting occasionally, examining the man.

"What time did he get here?" Rhys asks, frowning slightly. If Loader Bot had gotten a check up and paint job, he must've been in fairly early.

"2:49am." The bot answers. That was about half an hour after they'd all left the club. His eyes drift slightly from Loader Bot in thought, when they slowly settle on a figure slumped down in front of the waterfall. Sheets were scattered around the body who's back was against the wall surrounding the pond that the water fell into, his head hanging down so his chin was nearly touching his chest and a pen close to his right hand, it having rolled away slightly when landing on the floor. Approaching the man, Rhys kneels next to him and sees his slow, calm breathing. Jack had probably got to work as soon as he came up to Helios, not giving himself anytime to sleep. In front of the waterfall was his favourite place to work. He'd always talk about how the falling water behind him always soothed him and calmed him in stressful and tense situations. No wonder he'd managed to fall asleep here. Not having the heart to wake him, Rhys lightly takes hold of his shoulders and carefully leans him to his side, lying him down on the floor so to prevent him from getting a sore neck or back from sitting in such an awkward position. When he is comfortably laid down, Rhys takes off his suit jacket and wraps it lightly around the older man. Collecting the scattered pages, he walks toward his desk and continues Jacks unfinished work, wanting to give the man time to sleep, wake up and not have to worry about unfinished files. The work really had pilled up over the week... Sifting through the sheets, he tries to organize them, even just a little, to make his life a little easier. Various subjects had all been jumbled together. Things from financial reports, all the way to complaints and incidents. Suddenly, something on the bank statements catches his eyes. A four million dollar withdrawal? Scanning through some more statements, Rhys can't figure out where such a large sum of money had gone to. Wheeling the chair over to the end of the desk, he calls up the one person he knows who's perfect for the job. Even though four million dollars was just pennies compared to the amount of cash in Hyperions wallet, he'd like to find out where it had dissapeared to. If one person could get into their bank, anyone could.

"Hey bro, 'sup?" Vaughn questions, answering the calling phone.

"Hey, I need your help. Four million dollars seems to have gone missing from Hyperions bank and I need to know where its gone." Rhys replies, his eyes scanning over the sheet once more.

"Doesn't it say on the statement?" Vaughn asks, the familiar sound of typing coming from his end of the phone.

"Nope. Just says there was a withdrawal on Thursday." A few minuets pass without either of them saying another word, Rhys just allowing Vaughn the time and silence he needed to work.

"Like old times huh?" Vaughn chuckles, his fingers still tapping the keys.

"Ha, yeah." Rhys responds, remembering how Vaughn was able to transfer that ten million from Vasqueze's account.

"Okayy, well, it says here that it was transferred to apartment twenty four, whatever that is." Vaughn reports.

"Hmm, okay... Thanks bro, catch you later." Rhys praises, mentally scanning for any information on apartment twenty four.

"Let me know how it goes." Vaughn says, just before he puts the phone down, the line going dead. Rhys can't remember ever hearing anything about an apartment twenty four. Dialing up another number, he wants to get this done and sorted before Jack wakes up. That way he won't have to stress over it if he's been up all night.

"Hey Yvette, you free?" Rhys questions, not even giving her the chance to greet him as she picks up the phone.

"I am for the President of Hyperion," She teases, " what's up?" Her voice having a slight jingle to it. Today was obviously a good day.

"I need you to look up apartment twenty four." Rhys requests.

"Well, there'd be no point in that. Its not on the Helios map and all records of it got wipped." She replies within a split second of the questions being asked.

"How'd you-" Rhys begins, confused at how she had information without even needing to search it up on the systems.

"Because its my job," she interrupts, "however, I do know that it got shut off for a reason that _you_ shouldn't be poking your nose in." She continues, making her voice crisp clear.

"Yvette, please, this is important. Four million dollars has been transfered there and I need to get this locked down before Jack wakes up. He's been doing work all night and I don't want him to get up to a complete shit show." He begs, trying incredibly hard to keep his impatience under control. He hears her release a heavy sigh on the other end of the call.

"Fine. But don't blame me when you're killed for knowing too much. Word is that apartment twenty four was rentened out to Angel, y'know _Jacks_ _daughter_ , when she wanted a break or a place to chill out. When she died, Jack locked the doors, making sure nobody disturbed it because it was the last place that would remind him of her. I think he goes in on the occasion in an attempt to revive her memory type of thing. It could've been him transferring the money." She explains, remembering the details well.

"Why would he do it there though? Besides, he can't have, he was with me the whole week looking after me." Rhys wonders, his hand sliding through his amber locks.

"Well who else can it be? No one else has access there." She points out.

"Are you able to open it?" Rhys asks, looking over to the elevator.

"Well, yeah but... Oh no Rhys. No way am I opening it for you to go snooping in. That's Jacks _personal_ place. I know you and him click, but he might kill even _you_ for going in there!" Yvette argues.

"He won't even know. I'll be in and out of there quicker that you can say Handsome. C'mon... I'll buy you lunch for the rest of the week." He sings, a slight whine to his voice. After a couple seconds of silence, she groans in frustration.

"Fine! You can have ten minuets in there! Find what you need and get out! I'll update your echo." She sighs in defeat.

"Thanks Yvette, you're the best!" Rhys exclaims, standing from, the chair.

"I know." She drolls monotone, just before Rhys puts the phone back in its holder. Taking a quick glance back to see Jack still lying down asleep, he enters the elevator.

* * *

Yvette’s coordinates led to a floor which Rhys used to pass through a lot when working in IT, so he’s a little surprised that the _daughter_ of the Hyperion president spent most of her time in such a communal place. If it was for anything else she’d probably have security with her, but being as it was for her wind down time, she probably liked to evade that. Continuing down the corridor, he turns the corner and sees yellow tape stretched from one side to the other, making it perfectly clear that there was no entry and if anyone was to risk it, Handsome Jack would most probably kill them. Ignoring that, however, he pulls the tape up slightly and ducks under it, walking into the unlit space. Following the walls down, he reaches the end and sees the door labelled ’24’. Yvette had managed to enter Hyperion’s ID systems and give Rhys Jacks code, disguising his ID chip as Jacks for a short period of time. Now to test if it actually works. Flashing his card in front of the reader, the light illuminating amber into the darkness. Rhys’ heart stops and the breath gets caught in his throat as the reader attempts to read the magnetic strip. C’mon Yvette…. After a few agonising seconds, it finally transitions to green, meaning Rhys can finally breathe. Pulling the handle, he enters the ill-lit room, the only light coming from the large wall window. The walls had been painted a custom purple, little sketches and quotes written in areas with black ink. A white leather couch was diagonally angled in the corner by the window and sheets of drawings and written works were scattered beside it. Pictures of her and her friends lined the walls, a couple even of her with Jack in happier times… Everything seemed hardly touched, all in place and undisturbed. Everything except the brand new open laptop on the desk. Walking toward it, he touches his finger agains the touchpad, waking the screen up from sleep mode. Someone was here recently. Maybe still here… and he hadn’t bought anything to defend himself with. Great. Taking the risk, he sits in front of the laptop and begins to scan through some of the files, looking for any trace of the four million that had disappeared. Opening a recent file, he’s able to gather some proof.

**Transfer from:**  
**Hyperion account- Helios69** (you can thank Jack for that name)  
**to**  
**Account- 638190**

**Amount: $4,000,000**

****Continuing to scan through more files, he finds the same account number is linked to the laptop, luckily, it was already logged in, showing him that the four million was still in the thief’s bank. Now all he has to do is move it back to Helios’ account and warn the private bank about the security breach. However, his thoughts instantly come to a stop and his body freezes at the sound of a gun being cocked.

“Move away from the laptop.” A male voice orders, a fairly bulky body emerging from the inky shadows. Holding his hands up slightly, Rhys, cautiously, moves of the couch and to the side.

“What are you doing in here? No one is supposed to have access to this room.” Rhys questions, frowning to at least add a little confidence to himself.

“Obviously. I wasn’t hired by sheer luck kid. I know what I’m doing, and Hyperion’s security systems are simple for me to hack.” He replies, a proud smirk spreading into his expression. He was wearing mostly black, camouflage for sticking to the shadows, and his hair looked as if it had been dyed black as it didn’t suit his face and certainly didn’t match his blonde eyebrows.

“So what are you doing here? I mean, _other_ than stealing four million dollars.” Rhys continues, trying to keep him talking whilst attempting to think of a plan of how he can escape this one.

“A job, and that’s all you need to know.” He answers, raising his gun hand up slightly, so it’s lined directly with Rhys’ head. Suddenly, there’s a shot, causing Rhys to jump and screw his eyes shut, and it forces the man to the floor.

“You must have a death threat pulling a gun on a Hyperion president.” Jack’s voice taunts, entering the room with the two.

 "Ngh- T-That stupid kid is- the second president? _Ha!_ ” The man stammers in pain, clutching his left leg’s calf as blood seeps through his fingers. Again another shot sounds and it dents the floor, centimetres away from him.

“ _Don’t_ insult him either!” Jack growls, his frustration beginning to get the better of him. Stalking toward the man on the floor Jacks face has twisted into one verging on psychotic rage, an expression he hasn't seen on his face for a long time. Pressing his foot down on the wound, Jack leans down to the intruder, the gun pressed close to his chest.

"You wanna tell me who you're working for cupcake?" Jack snarls above his cries of pain of Jacks for putting an uncomfortable amount of pressure on the fresh bullet wound. When he doesn't receive an answer, he presses harder, digging the heel of his shoe down. Agonised screams rip from the guys lips, trying frantically to pull his leg from Jack.

"Just some scum from Pandora! They were gunna split the money with me when I got it back to them. They wanna steal from all the companies... They think Pandora should get its money back so its occupants can live a better life!" He blurts out, relief flooding him when pressure his relieved from his leg. After a few moments of Jack thinking everything over, he directs his speech to Rhys.

"Call security up here, this guy can go for interrogation." He mutters, scratching the back of his head with the muzzle of his pistol, clearly pissed off. After being summoned, it doesn't take long for armoured Hyperion guys to march through the door. After getting a quick briefing from Jack, they drag the thief away, leaving Jack and Rhys alone.

"So, um... I have a lot of paper stacked on the desk that I wanna finish... Sooo I'll meet you up there." Rhys stammers, a hand rubbing the back of his neck as he break the silence and try to exit the room as quickly as he can.

"Oh no!" Jack begins, grabbing Rhys' metallic arm, stopping him dead in his tracks, "you're not off the hook! What the _hell_ are you doing in here?! This room is off the map for a reason!" Jack seethes, spinning Rhys to face him and pushing him backward, his back slamming into a wall and an arm pressing flush against his neck. His hands grip at Jacks arms, attempting to create some space between the two pieces of flesh and give him some breathing room.

"I wanted to sort the problem for you before you got up so you could sleep! I'm sorry for coming in here! I know its special for you!" He gasps, oxygen slowly being cut off from his brain and his head beginning to feel light. Jack tightens his fist, raising it up and pulling back, ready to punch Rhys square in the face. However, he falters, breathing out heavily. His hand uncurls and his arm is removed from his neck, both hands falling down to his sides. His head falls forward and presses against Rhys' chest.

"I don't want to hurt you... I _can't_ _._ I can't make that mistake again." He murmurs, sudden sadness filling his tone as he leans into Rhys. Unsure of what to do, Rhys just follows what his instincts are telling him to do and forces Jacks body up to stand straight, quickly wrapping his arms around his shoulders Almost instantly, Jack’s wrap firmly around Rhys’ lean body, the pair falling to their knees as a crumpled heap. Rhys’ flesh hand begins to run through the older mans hair, trying in anyway he can to comfort him. The pair had hugged plenty of times before this, but this one was slightly more meaningful. Not that the other ones were worthless or just passing things, this one was the type that Jack hadn’t had in ages. The type of embrace that reminded him of all the sorrows and pain in his life, the one that brought back the pain of losing his daughter, but the one that began to take away some of the stress from the incident. The type of embrace that was able to force possibly the most powerful man in the universe, the President and CEO of Hyperion and a mourning father to tears...

 


	9. Memories and Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again another mature chapter. I hope it's written alright XD Also this chapter explains Rhys' background in depth so I hope that it's a bit different from what people are used to reading about him and that it's explained as well as I think it is XD Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy

“Hey bro I’m back.” Rhys calls as he enters his and Vaughn’s shared house.

“Hey!” Vaughn replies, “Told you he was gunna be fine.” He continues, directing his speech to someone else.

“You were just as worried as I was.” Yvette retaliates. Walking into the lounge, Rhys sees the pair sitting on the couch.

“Yvette? What are you doing here?” Rhys asks, sitting down in-between the two. Not that he was bothered about her presence, he just simply wasn’t expecting it.

 “Well, I have some particularly juicy info,” she grins, sitting forward and her hands gripping her knees, “So I was sifting through Jack’s info and past logs and-“ She begins, excitement growing in her voice, before he’s interrupted by Rhys.

“Wait- Why were you looking through his files?” Rhys questions, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“I wanted evidence against him just incase he _did_ end up killing you earlier. But, I found something-“ She continues, brushing it off without a problem. 

“Is that really the reason why you’re here?” he questions, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah, she wanted to see if you got home without injury because she was worried.” Vaughn answers for her, knowing she wouldn’t admit to it.

“Bro, you were worried too.” Rhys chuckles, knowing that he probably called her over.

“Well yeah, but-“ He replies

“Guys! Do you want the info or not?” Yvette exclaims, interrupting the boys conversation.

“Yeah, sorry. What did you find?” Rhys answers, quickly switching to a professional tone.

“Handsome Jack’s real name.” She grins, rather smug with herself.

“What?! His name’s Jack though?” Vaughn gasps, leaning further forward to see around Rhys and stare directly at Yvette, “Did you know about this bro?!"

“No clue.” Rhys breathes, just as shocked as Vaughn.

“According to his Hyperion application, his _real name_ is actually John.” Yvette informs, enjoying the couple of minuets of full blow attention she’s receiving. 

“John? Why’d he change it to Jack?” Vaughn wonders, mostly to himself.

“Maybe he just preferred it. You know he likes to keep his personal life to himself. If no one remembers, or refers to him by his real name anymore, he must’ve kept it secret for a reason.” Yvette points out. Rhys would absolutely love to ask him about it, possibly even tease him about it if the atmosphere was good enough, but, like Yvette said, if it was personal reason, he’d rather avoid getting strangled. They did have a date on Wednesday, maybe he'd bring it up then. But he didn't want to ruin the movie night and cuddles on the couch that he was oh so looking forward to! He'd think about it.

"So what happened today buddy? Find out where the money went? And apartment twenty four?" Vaughn begins, his voice mocking spookiness.

"Yeah there's a guy in interrogation at the moment. Said he was working for some people of Pandora to steal money from all the gun manufacturers." Rhys shrugs, leaning back into the couch and trying to stifle a yawn. Today had completely drained him. After doing some secret investigating, getting threatened with a gun and then avoiding Jack's wrath in what used to be his daughters favourite place to escape had knocked all the energy from him. He'd rather just go to bed. But, even though the pair would completely understand, he didn't want to be rude and leave his friends.

"What was Jack like? About you being in.... Y'know." Yvette urges, referring to the apartment.

"He was properly pissed to begin with... But... I dunno, his anger subsided. I don't really know what happened." He replies, not really wanting to talk a lot on the subject. It wasn't his place to say anything about it. That was between him, Jack and anything that might've happened in his past.

"The important part is; you got the money back and didn't die in the process." Vaughn rounds up, wanting to move the conversation on before it slipped into awkwardness. Rhys nods in agreement.

"Are you still going on a date night with Jack on Wednesday?" Yvette pokes, a cheeky grin appearing on her face.

"Yeah." Rhys smirks, a sudden feeling a drunken love washing over him. Rhys begins to mentally imagine everything that could and would happen on Wednesday. What movies would they watch? Action, comedy, horror (hopefully not)... Romance? The thought of being curled up in a blanket, encased by his strong arms, on the couch together brought butterflies to his stomach. The soda and popcorn would be on their laps between them and other sugary confections on the other end of the couch and coffee table. The only light emitting from the TV screen and the gentle thrum of Jacks heartbeat playing into his ears, lulling him to sleep as he soaks in the warmth from the other man. Some of the things they could get up to... He would be staying the night after all and, knowing Rhys' self restraint and Jacks attitude, they would be sharing a bed. Probably a massive bed, but the pair only taking up a small portion of it between them, curled together in a tangle of limbs, falling asleep in each others arms and fingers brushing through their hair. Maybe they would live up to the phone conversation they had the other night. The phone conversation that brought Rhys to one of the best orgasms he'd ever had. Somehow, even though it was called movie night, he gets the feeling they won't be watching a lot of movies.

* * *

"See you later buddy." Rhys bids farewell to Loader Bot who stands by the elevator doors. The doors slide shut and the elevator makes its long descent down to the carpark fast travel.

"I've got some great movies for us to watch tonight kitten." Jack hums, looking out at the galaxies landscapes.

"What about snacks?" Rhys asks, joining the other man and looking out at the blacks which fade into blues, the purples which mix with whites and the endless dots of stars which seem so close that you could touch them.

"I've got some, but," he begins, suddenly gripping Rhys' hips and pulling him close, "I was planning to snack on you all night." He purrs, pulling his head down slightly, his lips pressing on Rhys' neck, his teeth playing on his tender skin. The younger man can't stop the slight appreciative noises escaping his lips, the overnight bag that was on his shoulder, slipping off and landing with a clunk on the floor. Jacks hands untuck Rhys' blouse, his hands sliding up his skin and pushing against him, pressing his back roughly into the glass. Trailing his lips up, his teeth begin to nip and pull at Rhys' lower lip, sucking it slightly. Joining their lips together, Jack wastes no time in pushing his tongue into the opposites mouth, one hand coming from under his shirt to tangle in his hair. Rhys can't help but buck his hips into Jack slightly, lust getting the better of him. The elevator begins to slow and, to Rhys' disappointment, Jack pulls away.

"We'll have to leave that for later princess." He smirks, his voice a, rather dominant, whisper. Handsome Jack strolls from the elevator, picking Rhys' bag up as he goes, with swagger in his stride and his hair and clothes in place. Rhys however, he more falls out. Due to Jacks sudden advances, he'd been left in a mess. Hair now completely resistant to the gel that was previously in it, blouse half in tucked and bruises already forming on his neck and lip. He probably had a tent in his trousers, but he was to embarrassed to look. No one was here to see, but still...

"C'mon babe, I wanna get in that car and go!" Jack calls, already standing by the fast travel station which was built solely to take the user to the parking lot. Normally, fast travel would only allow one person at a time to pass through, but Jack was pretty insistent, wrapping his arm around Rhys' waist and keeping him close to his side. Reaching round the back of the machine, he presses a secret button. In just the blink of an eye, the pair Ina totally different place. Instantly spotting the red Ferrari again, Rhys can't help but chuckle.

"Of course, Handsome Jack has his own parking lot." Rhys comments, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Obviously, can't have all the employees of Helios knowing how lucky I am." Jacks, putting Rhys' bag into the back, sliding into the driver seat himself. Joining the man in the expensive antique, Rhys' eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"I'm pretty sure everyone knows that you have enough money to afford an expensive car." Rhys points out.

"No, not that idiot. How lucky I am that I get to take you home tonight." Jack corrects, smoothly, turning the engine on the kicking that car into gear. Rhys can already feel the blush flood into his cheeks.

"I'm- uh- I'm surprises you don't have any other cars. I heard you liked your motors so..." Rhys stammers, trying to switch the conversation topic so he doesn't have to dwell in the awkwardness.

"Oh, I do, but this ones my favourite." He replies, chuckling slightly at how childish it sounded. After an almost silent journey, the two finally pull up in the driveway of a rather grand house.

"Whoa... You live here?!" Rhys breathes, brushing some of his recently messed up hair from his face.

"Being the President and CEO of a company earns you these kinda things kiddo." Jack replies, grabbing Rhys' bag from the back and placing his hand on the small of the his back, leading him toward the front door. The pair had stayed at Helios later than they usually would, to get some extra work done and not worry about having to get up early tomorrow, so the sun was already beginning to set on the horizon. A blue light shines over Jack, examining his features, before the sound of the door unlocking sounds.

"Welcome home Jack." A computerised voice welcomes, Jack pushing the door open and allowing Rhys first entry. Walking inside, the lights slowly illuminate, building up intensity top recent a sudden sharp light shining in his face. Modern technology surrounds them. A huge flat screen TV slide up from a compartment in the floor in front of the black leather couch, the kettle automatically flicks on and the fire, which is on the right side of the couch, switches on, flames igniting and releasing warmth into the previously cold room.

"C'mon Cupcake." Jack chuckles, taking a hold of Rhys' had and leading him through the lounge, up the stairs and into another room. Dim amber light spreads around the dark red walls, the black leather king size bed being the centre piece.

"I'll put your stuff over here. You can get changed in here." Jack tells him, grabbing some fresh boxers from the varnished wooden draws, "I'll get changed in the bathroom and meet you down stairs. Grab the blankets from the bed before you come down babe." He finishes, leaving the bedroom and entering the one down the hall. Rhys suddenly feels starstruck. He knew Jack was rich but... Wow. Beginning to unbutton his shirt, he scans his eyes around the bedroom, marvelling in how clean and cozy it was. Not that he thought that Jack was a messy home owner. Its just he kinda expected sheets to be scattered everyone as the man never seemed to sleep. He was a little shocked the bed actually looked like it was used regularly. Slipping into his baby blue pyjamas, he folds his work suit into his bag and, grabbing the two black fluffy blankets as instructed, he begins to pad, bear foot, down the carpet stairs and into the lounge.

"And here I thought you couldn't get any cuter." Jack smirks, from the kitchen, carrying two bowls of snacks into the open plan room and placing them down on the coffee table. Rhys can't hide the hot blush forming onto his cheeks as he sees Jacks not wearing anything else other than his boxers.

"What movie do you fancy watching then kitten?" He asks, walking over to the DVD rack.

"How about.... Action." Rhys replies, hopping onto the sofa, wrapping part of the blankets around himself, waiting for Jack to sit down before he properly got comfortable. Sitting down next to the younger man, Jack places one arm on the arm rest and holds his other one out, inviting Rhys to snuggle up into his side and share the blankets. Jacks skin was so warm. It had the occasional scar and mark across it from previous battles, but that made it even more beautiful. To know that he wasn't as perfect as he let on. Rhys becomes slightly distracted by the title sequence of the movie coming through the surround sound speakers, but rubs his head lightly against Jacks shoulder, pressing down into the couch and settling.

* * *

The night was going perfectly. The film interested both of them, they would occasionally reach for snacks and drinks, Jack even taking it a little further by hand feeding him at one point. Occasional Rhys would receive a kiss on the head, lips, neck... That always led to some biting and sucking, but nothing more. The pair were content at just sitting together and enjoying the movie. That was until one scene had hit Rhys a little too close to home. He wasn't one for crying at his past, but the scene in the movie played a big part in a past event of his. He really tried to hide it from his partner, not wanting to destroy the pleasant atmosphere or disrupt the movie, but Jack soon found out when a stray tear escaped his eye and fell onto his bare skin. The movie was swiftly paused and Jack pulled back to examine the tearful Rhys.

"What's wrong pumpkin? Its just a movie." He chuckles, wiping away the tears with his thumb. When Rhys continues to cry, Jack begins to worry, grabbing a tissue and handing it him and running his hand through his hair soothingly.

"Sorry. I didn't want to bother you with this." Rhys laughs between sobs, feeling rather pathetic about himself.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?" Jack asks, concern filling his voice.

"Memories." Rhys replies. The scene that had set the water works off was a young girl getting mauled by a skag... It triggered something in Rhys.

"Oh shit! Kiddo I'm sorry! If I knew that scene was in it, I would never have put it on." Jack apologies, remembering Rhys story back at the nightclub. After a short silence, Rhys finally decides on something. If he wanted to make things work with Jack... If he wanted to have a proper relationship with him, he would rather him know.

"I didn't tell the full truth back at the nightclub." Rhys mutters, wiping away another tear.

"Rhys, if its something to do with your past, honestly, you don't have to tell me." Jack soothes, not wanting to make him anymore upset than he already was.

"No, I want you to know. I want you to know because I want to have a proper relationship with you!" Rhys exclaims, the truth already pouring from his mouth. Jack seems a little taken back by the younger mans words. Honestly, he'd been thinking about asking him to be his boyfriend since Sunday... But he'd either never had the time or rather never found the words. For him to suddenly say that, made it seem a little easy, to know that he wants a relationship as well.

"I don't talk to my mum anymore. We don't exactly... Get along." Rhys stammers, trying to even out his voice.

"But you said your mum was-" Jack hesitates, slightly confused.

"I tell people she's dead because its easier than saying she resents me and wants nothing to do with me. When I was younger, I was playing with my sister outside... She was a great little thing. Always running around with tons of energy. She was my best friend. But... I got distracted by talking to the neighbours kid. I wasn't paying attention to her wondering down the street a little," Rhys begins, his voice slowly becoming shaky as he can see the image clear as day in his head, as if it all happened yesterday, "a-a Skag came out of nowhere and..." He continues, his voice breaking, causing him to pause slightly, his eyebrows furrowing and more tears spilling down his cheeks, "she sided on the way to hospital. My mum hated me for it. She often scream at me, how it was my fault and that she wished it was me who had been killed. My dad tried hard to keep us together, but, when he passed away, things just got worse. I moved out when I got to college, sharing a dorm with Vaughn... I signed up for the Hyperion cybernetics program because I needed money to pay off the college and living fees. Being as I was the first 'subject' I got paid just enough to get out of debt... Vaughn and Yvette are the only two that I've ever told about what actually happened." He breathes out, the feeling of a heavy weight being lifted from his shoulders.

"Rhys... I.." Jack trails, processing the information and trying to think of something to reply with, "I can remember when you first came in for the cybernetic transplants. You looked so small and I can remember think 'there's no way this kid is gonna make it through.' But... You proved me wrong. You flew straight through it and still have the quickest recovery time to date. I gotta say, even though I didn't see you after that, when we were on Pandora, I'm so thankful I got stuck in your head. Its nice to see a familiar, friendly face when you've been dead," Jack smirks in remembrance, "what I'm tryna say kid is. You're a lot stronger than you think, but even the strongest of people have their weak points and need to let it out every once in a while. Im grateful that you trust me enough to tell me all of that." Jack breathes, his hand stroking lightly against Rhys' cheek.

"So... You don't hate me?" Rhys questions, tears still trickling down his face and his voice cracking slightly. His main fear was that Jack would side with his mum and blame it all on Rhys just like she did.

"You fucking idiot, of course I don't!" Jack replies, taking a hold of Rhys' chin and pulling him forward quickly, slamming their lips together. Rhys sobs against Jacks lips, his hands gripping to the older mans shoulders, clinging onto him as if he'd fall apart without him. Pulling the lean man into his lap, Jack presses their bodies flush against each other, embracing him tightly and parting their lips.

"I would _never_ hate you." He whispers, allowing Rhys to sit there for a while just to cry into his shoulder. After a few minuets of silent crying, Rhys pulls out of the embrace slightly, pressing his lips tenderly against Jacks.

"T-Thank you." He breathes, his red tear stained face now finally tear free. Leaning in for another kiss, the pairs lips merge with each others, pecking at the flesh and the sound of messy kisses filling the once silent room. The kisses, with time, become more lustful and wanting. Trailing his lips over his skin, Jack reaches Rhys' collar bones, circling them with his tongue, bringing his lips back down occasionally to suck on them. Rhys would let appreciative noises slip out of his mouth occasionally as Jack would him in the back of his throat. Teeth would pull at the tender skin of his neck, rolling it in between the incisors and sucking the raw flesh. Rhys can't help but roll his hips into Jacks slightly, earning a moan from the man, which causes Rhys to smirk, happy that he was able to make him falter slightly. Jack slowly undoes Rhys' pyjama shirt, giving him time to protest if they were moving too quickly. But, he's able to continue his advances, sliding his hands over the smooth bare chest of his partner once the shirt has been discarded on the other side of the couch. Holding onto his hips, not breaking their kissing, Jack pull Rhys down into him a little harder, grinding their hips together causing the pair to moan into each others mouths. When their lips part for just a split second, however, Rhys accidentally let's something slip. Even if it was super quiet, the unmistakable 'John' passes through his lips, which cause the pair to instantly freeze and Rhys' gut to flip in dread.

"Where did you find that out?" Jack questions, rather seriously.

"Oh god, Jack I'm so sorry. I heard about it from somewhere. I didn't mean to say it." Rhys blabbers, words near enough tumbling from his mouth.

"I picked the name Jack because I just preferred it... Seemed more defiant and less... Formal. Tassiter hated it, but," he begins a slightly chuckle to his voice, "I kinda like it when you say it." He smirks, dropping his voice to a husky whisper and pull Rhys in close again, bucking his hips up once. Reliefs floods over Rhys and he can see the hint in Jacks words.

"Well then, _John_ _,_ " he breathes, pressing his hips down again. Jack shudders slightly and laughs a little.

"Oh god. Kitten I could have you right now..." He hisses, biting his lower lip.

"I. Dare. You." Rhys growls, punctuating each word for effect. Wasting no more time, Jack grips Rhys' legs, standing from the couch and lying him down, rather roughly, onto the coffee table. Sliding his hands up Rhys legs, he runs them up the inside of his thighs, before gripping the hem of his pyjama bottoms. Tugging them down, he can already see the obvious erection in the younger mans right boxers. Deciding to tease him for a bit, he presses his lips to the fabric, allowing his hot breath to spread over the sensitive skin and nudging the tip with his nose slightly.

"Oh god, Jack, stop teasing!" Rhys begs, wrapping his legs around the mans torso. Smoothing his hand over his boxers, he stops and presses down on his cock, rubbing and massaging it through the fabrics. The grip around his torso tightens slightly as Rhys' back arches for a second, moaning into his touch. Tugging his boxers down slightly, his erection peaks over the hem, pressed close to his stomach. Flicking his tongue over the head, he pulls away, causing Rhys to whimper in protest.

"Let's take this upstairs, shall we?" Jack purrs, putting his hands under Rhys back, pulling him into his body, his legs falling from his torso to wrap around his waist. Walking up the stairs, Rhys continually bucks his hips into Jack, trying to get as much friction as he can to ease his lust.

"If you continue to act like a cat with a scratching post, I'll drop you now and we'll call the whole thing off." Jack warns, reaching the top step and heading toward his room, eyeing him teasingly. Trying to gather as much self restraint as he can, Rhys still his hips. Throwing him onto the mattress, Jack round the bed to the cabinets, grabbing some lubricant. Rhys stays in the position he landed in; chest and face pressed into the sheets, his perk ass pointed upward and his legs spread apart slightly.

"I-I could do that for you." Rhys stammers, referring the the clear substance Jack is currently rubbing over his erect cock.

"Uh-uh. Remember our phone conversation? You _never_ saw mine." Jack teases, his hands running over Rhys' arse and sliding to grip his hips. Rhys whines in dissatisfaction, but is quickly silenced by his Boxers being fully removed and Jacks head pressing at his entrance. Looking over his shoulder, his face pressed sideways against the bed, he sees Jack looking back at him.

"God kitten you look so fucking good like that!" He exclaims, pushing his hips forward slightly. Rhys' fingers curl into the sheets, gripping in an attempt to dull the pain. After a couple of movements from Jack the pleasure over takes the pain and moans escape his lips. A hand wraps around his erection, moving over it and heightening the feeling, causing his moans to grow in volume.

“J-Jack!” Rhys breathes, a hand sliding under his chest, between the sheets and is pulled up, his back pressing to Jacks chest and he continues to thrust into him. Jacks finger hooks onto his neck, tilting Rhys’ face and connecting their lips again.

“You’re so good at this…” Jack mutters, his an arm wrapping around Rhys’ chest. Rhys would comment on his compliment. He’d point out that he wasn’t actually doing anything to contribute compared to Jack, but he can’t be bothered. It felt too good. It would probably only come out as exasperated moans anyway. His lips stray from the others, sliding down Rhys’ neck and his teeth sinking into the tendon slightly.

"Jack-ah- I think I'm gunna-ngh-" Rhys stammers, his arms reaching up and over to tangle his fingers into his partners hair. Jack continues to play his lips over his neck, encouraging him to his orgasm quicker. Finally reaching his limit, Rhys climax's into Jack's hand, falling slightly limp in his arms, leaving him to finish. Jack grunts and, after stilling his hips from his orgasm, he collapses, falling next to Rhys on the sheets.

“God… That was great…” Jack breathes, a hand resting on his stomach as he looks up at the ceiling. Rhys makes a noise in the back of his throat in appreciation and agreement. He was too tired to talk. 

“Tired Kitten?” Jack chuckles, moving slightly to wrap his arms around Rhys’ body, “C’mon, lets go to bed.” he soothes, tugging Rhys to the top of the bed and under the covers. Wrapping the sheets around him, Jack pulls Rhys into his embrace. Rhys settles nicely, curling his body into Jacks, both their bodies heated and his elevated heartbeat playing into his ears. Just as he expected, a super large bed… and the pair only taking up a small middle portion together.

 


	10. S.O.S: Secret Office Sex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is dedicated purely to some sexy time in the office ;) but it has a little bit of a twist (as you can probably tell by the chapter title) I hope y'all think it's ok and hopefully like it XD

Rhys gradually begins to stir, shifting slightly under the sheets, burying his face further into the other mans chest. He can already feel the soft touch of Jacks fingers running and rolling his hair between hi fingers. It felt so nice. Wonder how long he'd been awake. Rhys' legs extend slightly, just enough so that he can wrap his feet around Jacks.

"Shit kiddo, your feet are freezing!" Jack exclaims, flinching away from the cold flesh. Rhys just grunts in reply, his eyes remaining closed, but his playful mind already getting to work. Bringing his legs up a little closer to his chest, he presses his cold feet to Jacks thighs causing his to release a pained breathe and his body to instantly move away.

"Oohh so you're playful in the morning huh Kitten?" Jack questions, a sly grin forming on his face, getting to his knees and straddling the younger man, "well, so am I." He hisses, his fingers suddenly digging into Rhys' side. His eyes spring open and he erupts into laughter as Jacks fingertips drag and scrape over his bare skin, tickling his sides. His sides gradually begin to hurt from his constant struggling and laughter.

"N-No Jack, Pl-Please!" He exclaims, gripping onto his wrists and trying to pry him off. After a couple more seconds, Jack quickly changes targets, capturing Rhys' frantic hands, bringing them up to his lips and kissing his fingertips, instantly calming the situation.

"Morning princess." Jack smiles warmly. God he even looked good in the morning. His hair had fallen a different way after last night. His parting was now straight down the middle, causing the one streak of white to be at the front strands on both sides. His eyes gleamed with morning tiredness, the first light of the morning hitting his irises. Jack was also admiring Rhys' morning look. He had half lidded eyes, still not fully awake and ready, even though he'd just had his wake up call. He cheeks were flushed red, the colour spreading to the tip of his nose. His hair was swept over the right side if his face slightly, breaking free of yesterdays hair gel. Leaning down slightly, Jack presses a quick morning peck to his lips and lifts himself off the bed.

"Tea?" Jack asks, heading toward the door. Nodding his head Rhys' eyes drag themselves to the dried stains on the bed sheets from last night. His cheeks instantly heat up and he has to stifle a giggle, turning onto his side as he remembers last nights events. He glances to the digital clock on the bedside table. 12:43... They were so late. They were on call, so if anything major popped up they could just make their way up to Helios and they did take care of their work last night. So... Who cares? They were the presidents of Hyperion. If they wanted a day of, they could have a day off. However, Rhys was kinda itching to get back up there. He rebuilt that place after Jack died and he wasn't willing to let it slip its standards again anytime soon. Most people would tell him not to worry, have the day off, its not like it could all go downhill in one day... But Rhys knew Helios. It could definitely slip within one day. He could already see one of the stupid engineers opening a window for some fresh are or something and getting sucked out into the vacuum, leaving everyone else to suffocate.

"Here ya go pumpkin." Jack presents Rhys with a mug of hot tea, placing it on the side, so Rhys can prop up the pillows behind his back and sit up comfortably. Rounding the bed, Jack slides back under the covers, holding onto his own mug, the heat seeping through the ceramic and tingling the skin of his hands.

"I owe Yvette lunch for the remainder of this week... She's gonna kill me later." Rhys chuckles, taking a sip of his tea.

"How come?" Jack muses, steadying his own mug onto his covered lap.

"Just had a little bet with her that I ended up losing." He lies, reminding himself that it probably wasn't the best idea to tell Jack that she was the reason his ID card was facaded as Jacks and he was able to get access to Angels room because of that. Thankfully Jack doesn't question anymore because there's no way that, this soon after waking up, he'd be able to come up with another believable lie to cover himself. Jacks phone screen suddenly lights up and a bell tolls. A reminder ringtone.

"Shit!" He exclaims, ripping the covers off himself with such a force that it causes Rhys to knock his tea to the side slightly, causing some to come sloshing over the edges.

"Watch it Jack!" He warns, placing his mug onto the side and trying, and failing, to dab the now wet patch of the sheets.

"Sorry kiddo, but I've gotta run, I've got a meeting!" He apologies, slipping into his everyday clothes as quickly as he can.

"I didn't think you cared about meeting?" Rhys questions.

"I don't, but this ones with all the different companies about that guy who infiltrated Helios the other day. I'll be back in a few." He explains, planting a kiss of Rhys' forehead before dashing out of the door. His footsteps can be heard clunking down the stairs, before finally reaching the front door and slamming it shut. Rhys was left in complete silence. He said it would only be a couple of minuets, but he knew these types of meetings. It would probably last for over two hours. Jack would come back super stressed. Rhys was supposes to be returning home tonight. How was he supposed to do that if Jack was probably planning to stay on Helios for the rest of the day. Grinning Rhys gets from under the sheets and begins to put on his work suit, a plan already scheming in his mind.

* * *

Getting out of the elevator, Jack stretches his arms out and upward, stifling a yawn and whistling a catchy tune to himself. He jogs up the couple of steps to his desk, keeping light on his toes, and plonks himself down on the leather chair. Grabbing a blank sheet of paper from the left end of the desk, he scribbles something down in black biro and is about to reach over for his glass of ice water, when a pair of hands smooth up the inside of his thighs. Jerking back slightly, causing the chair to wheel a few inches back, he looks down to see Rhys kneeled in the small compartment under the desk, the first three buttons of his shirt undone, exposing a fairly large portion of his chest.

"R-Rhys? What are you doing here? I thought you were still in bed." Jack stammers, his eyes widening at the current position of his partner.

"Well, I knew you'd be here for a while and I thought that meeting might've stressed you out... So I came up here to... _Relive_ some of the stress." He explains, crawling out slightly from the space and his hands placing on Jacks thighs again.

"Oh god kiddo... Don't." Jack breathes, chewing on his bottom lip as Rhys' fingers imitate a walking sequence, all the way up to the rising tent in his trousers.

"Why? I thought you liked what we did last night. You did say you didn't mind sex in the office on the phone the other day." Rhys reminds, tugging on the zipper and sliding the tips of his fingers through the small opening and rolling the boxers fabric between his thumb and forefinger.

"I-I did, but, SHIT kiddo! I have a meeting." Jack moans, his erection now becoming a lot more obvious.

"I thought you already had the meeting?... Oh well. You can be late can't you? You _are_ Handsome Jack after all. I don't think people will mind." Rhys comments, pulling on the mans legs, causing the chair to roll towards him and his face pressing lightly into his lap.

"No, I mean, the meetings happening in here. Like, now!" Jack corrects, seeing the elevator pull up to the floor and the doors begin to open. Rhys can't stop his eyes from widening at the noise of the bosses of some of the second best companies walking in. Hyperion being the number one company, obviously. If he was to leave now, everyone would see him crawl from under the desk... That would most certainly dent Jacks reputation, and knock against Rhys' embarrassment and self consciousness. Now he's really hoping this meeting won't last long. The pair had clearly become incredibly turned on by Rhys' advances and it wasn't the biggest space to sit in for the next two hours.

"Gentleman... So glad you could make it. I'm sure you guys understand why I called ya up here..." Jack announces as the sound of chairs scrapping against the hard floor tells Rhys everyone was sitting down. Suddenly, Jacks foot moves under the desk, pressing against Rhys' crotch and moving slightly, digging in so to make contact with the sensitive skin. He reacts quickly, pressing his hands to his mouth to prevent the sudden moan that was begging to escape through his lips. He'd done this to himself. Jack was clearly getting back at him for putting him in this situation. If Jack wants something, nine times out of ten, he gets it. Trying to move forward, whilst keeping in contact with jacks foot, not wanting to lose its touch, he massages his fingers into Jacks trousers, trying to squeeze as much arousal out of the man as he can.

"We're in a very serious situation sir, if this man _was_ hired by people on Pandora, then who's to say they won't hire another to target our companies?" A male voice from somewhere in the room comments.

"He's right. We got lucky this time." Another voice agrees.

"Lucky that they targeted Hyperion first? I-Is that what you're tryna say pumpkin? I mean- ha- I know we rejected that deal with you an all, but there's no need to get touchy." Jack growls, covering any groan that may have passed through expertly. So this was the boss of Jakobs that was currently speaking then. Jack presses into Rhys with a little more pressure, his actions translating to Rhys as an instruction to kick it up a notch. Unbuckling the mans trousers, he pulls his erection from his boxers, running his fingers over it slightly, causing the bead of precum to slick over the skin.

"No, that's not what I meant sir. I just meant that we were lucky he got caught before he could get anyway with any money." He quickly explains. Any quicker and he would be stumbling over his own words.

"I believe that your co president caught the thief in the act, am I right?" A different voice asks.

"Yep, kiddo sorted the problem on his own. Valiant effort, which resulted in getting a gun pulled on him, but he made it out safe and sound." Jack smirks, his hand sliding under the desk, gripping onto Rhys' hair mid sentence and pulling his close, pressing his lips to his cock.

"So, where is he?" The same man questions.

"Really that's none of your business, but if you _must_ know, the kids talking with the bank about the incident and then he's briefing the authorities about it." Jack lies, tugging Rhys' head up slightly in order to push the tip of his cock to his lips. Ever so slowly, Rhys' head lowers, slowly sliding his mouth over and down his member, his tongue pushing flush against it and he could've sworn he heard a heavy exhale from Jack in appreciation.

"Good... Not too shaken up I hope." The same voice chuckles, his tone suggesting that he's mocking Rhys.

"If you wanna remain the president of Tediore, then I suggest you don't insult my partner." Jack snarls, defending Rhys as he slides his foot back, running the tip of his shoe along Rhys' length. After a short silence of awkwardness, in which Rhys stills himself in fear of making any noise that would be an obvious give away to Jack getting a blowie during a meeting, someone finally speaks and brings them back round to the conversation they should be having. Rhys removes his lips, bringing his tongue to the base of Jacks cock, slowly licking up before circling the tip. One hand grips just below his chin, moving up and twisting his hand, only slightly, on his way back down for extra effect. His other hand grips onto Jack's ankle, yanking, a little too hard, toward him so he can press against his crotch with more pressure. Jacks hands quickly grab the chairs arm rests, trying to steady himself from the sudden movement from Rhys and to prevent himself from falling of the desk chair.

"Uh s-sir? Are you OK?" A male voice asks, concern filling his voice, obviously noticing Jacks sudden jerked action.

"Uh, yeah." Jack replies, coughing awkwardly mid sentence. The conversation they were having was slowly becoming blocked out as Rhys was too focused on staying quiet and pleasuring Jack at the same time. He smirks to himself at the thought of making Handsome Jack feel uncomfortable and awkward in a situation. Normal he would be appalled that he did this and was actually happy about it, but this was _Jack_ he was talking about. It was an achievement in its own right.

"So what are we going to do then? I mean interrogating the guy is all well and good, but what about the people on Pandora? If they hire another, we might not get as lucky next time." The voice of the Tediore president reminds.

"Well we need to wait for him to tell us who hired him before we can do anything else." The Jakobs president points out. Suddenly, Jack shifts, his hand gripping the leaver on the side of his chair and pulling, causing the chair to slide to its lowest setting. Rhys follows him down, not removing his lips once. Jack pulls his foot away, tapping on Rhys' belt. Carefully and as quietly as he can, Rhys unbuckles his belt and slides it from around his waist. Not overly sure what to do now, he awaits anymore instructions that Jack can give him.

"And how will we deal with the people who hired him afterward? I mean I know what I would do, but I can guarantee you lot won't agree and I don't want _another_ uproar due to my actions. After all that killed me last time." Jack asks, growling at the thought of his untimely death. Both his feet move to Rhys' hips trying to pull his trousers down by dragging his shoes from the hem and down. Worried that people would start to notice his strange movements, Rhys takes a hold of Jack's legs, stilling them and removing his trousers himself. Once he's done that, Jacks hand appears under the table again, spinning his index finger, ordering him to turn around. He could already see where this was going. Turning, rather awkwardly on his hands and knees in such a tight space, he feels Jacks hands on his hips. He wasn't really sure how this was going to work. There wasn't a lot of room to begin with so it was difficult to imagine how Jack was planning to have sex here.

"I suppose, really, the only thing we can do is pull them in for interrogation as well." A different voice answers, sighing at the little amount of options they have presented to them. Rhys' trousers and boxers hang loosely around his ankles, not having enough room to remove them properly, as Jack tugs on his hips, directing him into his lap slightly. Standing, his knees bent, he's, rather awkwardly, _just_ got enough room.

"Well then, by the sounds of things -ngh- were gunna be seeing a lot more of each other." Jack chuckles, pausing slightly as he can't prevent the one moan slipping his lips as he pulls Rhys down onto his cock. Rhys' hands lie flat on the wood in front of him. Given his back was pressed flat against the desk, he had just enough room to move his hips up.

"Handsome Jacks right." A voice agrees, not sounding too thrilled at the idea. They'd all either decided to ignore the noise which Jack had made previously, or didn't hear it. Rhys was hoping the latter.

"Of course I'm right you idiot. Until we find out more information from this guy in interrogation, we're still on step one of our little investigation." Jack sneers, moving his hands under his desk slightly, his arms circling Rhys' waist and his fingers playing with his cock, stroking and tickling the sensitive flesh as he continues to move on him, grinding down on him occasionally to save the effort of lifting his hips again.

"What about afterwards? He's on Helios at the moment, but I suppose you won't keep him here." The Jakobs president queries. Just then, Jack thrust up into Rhys' wanting to get a little more from him. He didn't really mean to, it was kind of an unconscious action. However, it caused the man under the desk to slam into the wood, his back and head hitting hard against it. The glass of ice water topples over and dampens the sheet that Jack had scribbled something on earlier.

"Fuck!" Jack mumbles under his breath, causing Rhys to instantly stop moving and Jack to quickly pick up the glass.

"Are you sure you're OK sir?" The question is asked again, which obviously pisses Jack off.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Just- hit my knee on the desk!" He lies, picking the paper up by its corner and moving it to the other end of the desk, away from the puddle of water. His other hand grips Rhys' right hip, digging his nails in slightly, causing Rhys to bite his bottom lip to stop him from crying out. Afterward, Jack tugs him down again, telling him to continue. Rhys complies, moving his hips up and down getting back into the rhythm he had going before.

"You're right. The authorities can have him. I have no need for scum like him on my space station. He won't be my problem." Jack answers the question proposed to him earlier. Another silence follows. This time however, Rhys continues his movements, causing Jack to bite his inner cheek in an attempt to hold back any noises. He was slowly being driven mad by the fact that he couldn't express his appreciation in the form of loud moans and exclamations of the younger mans name.

"Well then gentlemen, if we're done here, we can arrange another meeting for after the interrogation has finished and discuss the information." Jack announces, clapping his hands, rubbing his palms together.

"Very well. Please contact us for the next meeting." Someone requests, the chairs scrapping on the floors again as people stand. Jack simply replies, with doing a lazy two fingered salute, watching the men get into the elevator. When the elevator doors finally close and it begins to make its descent, Jack can't help but chuckle.

"Oh-ho Kiddo... We should do this more often!" He exclaims, pushing his chair from under the desk. Grabbing Rhys, he hoists him up and onto the desk, his chest pressing against the wood. The ice cold water puddle spreads over his chest, causing him to cry out with the sudden shock of low temperature, his whole body falling limp, his energy drained from being into such an awkward position under the desk. The water slowly seeps up to his face, spreading over his cheek, cooling him down slightly, his body slowly getting used to the temperature. Jack thrusts his hips against Rhys', pushing his cock back in and finally releasing the disclosed moans, Rhys giving his contribution of noises as well. Jacks hands place flat on the desk on either side of Rhys' hips, whilst Rhys reaches down and curls a hand around his own dick.

"Sir, the authorities are here. They're demanding you let them see the thief in case you're not treating him correctly." A female voice informs him over the intercom. In other words, they wanted to know if the man was still alive and how many fresh bruises he has on his body. Jack holds his finger on the button, allowing his voice to be picked up and causing Rhys to, once again, attempt to stifle his noises of pleasure.

"Well- take them down to him." Jack replies, grunting as he thrusts into Rhys once more.

"A-are you OK sir?" She questions, probably taking his noise as one for concern. 

"Just- peachy!" He growls, releasing his finger from the button, abruptly ending their brief conversation. Sliding his hands across the desk, he presses his chest flush to Rhys’ back, making his thrusts slower in pace but more forceful.

“AH JACK!” Rhys exclaims, feeling the mans teeth scrape and nibble at the skin on his neck and ear lobe.

“Oh fuck kiddo, I’m so glad you’re into office sex. You kinky boy.” Jack purrs into the shell of his ear, his tongue tracing around his outer ear. His hands grip at Rhys’ hips, digging his fingers in slightly, massaging the kin underneath his fingertips whilst trailing kisses from his jawline down to the crook of his neck.

“Ngh- Jack… i’m close!” Rhys warns, chewing on his bottom lip as more moans emit from his mouth.

“Me too Kitten.” Jack replies, picking up pace and a hand removing itself from his partners waist and tangling his fingers into Rhys’ hair. Suddenly, his hips still and his hand pulls back, lifting the top half of Rhys off the desk and a deep groan rumbles in the back of his throat as he orgasms. 

“Oh shit, Jack!” Rhys’ exclaimed moan echoes through the office as he convulses backward, his hips backing into Jack’s as cum jets across the desk, mixing in with the, previously ice cold, water and spreading over the already damp piece of paper. The two collapse, Jack pulling from Rhys and lying flat on his back. The cum mixed water covers Rhys' chest as he falls into it. The two breathe heavily together, Jack’s body rising and falling to the rhythm of Rhys’ breathing. 

“ _Fuck_ Rhysie… that was _good_!” Jack purrs.

“I- I hope that piece of paper wasn’t important.” Rhys stammers, glancing over at the totally ruined sheet from his position on the desk.

“In a form it kinda was…” Jack chuckles, carefully pushing off Rhys and standing, pulling his boxers and trousers up and running a hand through his messed up hair.

“What did it say?” Rhys asks, remaining with his chest to the desk, to exhausted to move. The biro that was previously on the otherwise plain scrap piece of paper, has now run and spread from the two substances of water and Rhys’ cum to something completely unreadable.

“Well… it was a reminder to myself for when I got home… to ask if you’d be my boyfriend.” Jack smirks, sitting down on the office chair, just behind Rhys, pursing his lips a little at the view. To his disappointment the view doesn’t remain as Rhys stands and goes to walk toward the offices bathroom, but he forgets that his boxers and trousers are around his ankles. He falls flat on his face with a fairly pained groaned.

“Shit, kiddo, you ok?” Jack asks, standing and offering his hand to the younger male, attempting to stifle his laughter at the same time. 

“Yeah.. I’m good.” Rhys replies, taking his hand and putting most of his weight on Jack once he’s finally on his feet.

“Oh dear Kitten, I think we need to get you a new shirt.” Jack chuckles, looking at the damp fabric, white stains spread around and buttons missing from the frantic undressing under the table earlier. Rhys simply looks at him, rather unimpressed, his eyes half lidded and his balance relying heavily on the other man as the world spins and rocks slightly. He tries desperately to not fall forward onto him, so to keep the mess to himself and not spread it to the other president.

“C’mon, lets get you to the bathroom.” Jack laughs, happy with the state he’d put Rhys in. Walking slowly, wobbling with each step, Rhys lets Jack lead him toward the bathroom. just before shutting the door behind him, he turns back to Jack and drunken grin on his face.

“Yes.” He breathes. Slightly confused at the sudden agreement which is completely out of context, Jack’s eyebrows knit together in befuddlement.

“Yes what pumpkin?” He asks, running his thumb along the others cheek, removing a few drops of water that had splashed onto it.

“I’ll be your boyfriend.” He grins, shutting the door quickly afterward to cover the scarlet blush spreading over his cheeks. Out of all the things that have just happened, why was he becoming embarrassed by this? His back presses against the door and his legs fall from beneath him, his body sliding down until his bare ass is agains the cold tile floor. Jack stands, a slightly bewildered look on his face, his eyes remaining fixed on the door, before a smirk spread into his features and he makes his way back toward his desk. Looking at the new mess on his desk, he sees the two liquids have mixed together to make it at least a little different to cum and water… hopefully the Rhys won’t be as embarrassed knowing this now when he calls a janitor up.

“I need a clean up in my office.” Jack calls through his intercom to his secretary. 


	11. Two Jacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one might have some spoilers to the Borderlands 2 game... depending on what people have done and if anyone comments about it. Yeah. Just as a warning in case...

"He just said he preferred it." Rhys chuckles as his head falls back slightly, sitting on the metal bench in the 'Hall or Heroism' with Vaughn and Yvette, "but I'd recommend just referring to him as sir or Jack still. Just in case." He adds, his eyes closing slightly, his arms laid on the back on the bench, falling behind his two friends.

"Right..." Vaughn mutters, slightly disappointed. Rhys guesses he was expecting a big story and background for the name change, something epic and action packed.

"I still can't believe he hasn't asked you out yet." Yvette murmurs, causing Rhys to raise his head and open his eyes.

"Uhh yeah... About that." Rhys says, sheepishly.

"No way!! When did he ask? What did you say?!" Vaughn exclaims, the two friends instantly lighting up with excitement and happiness for him.

"Obviously he said yes idiot... You said yes right?!" Yvette replies, gripping onto Rhys' shoulder in case he made a stupid decision.

"Of course I said yes," he chuckles, feeling the pressure of Yvette's grip lighten slightly, "he asked me the other day whilst we were- busy." Rhys continues, suddenly remembering that he was about to blurt out that they had sex in the office. Even worse they had sex during a meeting!

"And you're only telling us now?!" Yvette scolds, hitting him with her fist, a little harder than Rhys would've liked and expected.

" _Busy_ sounds suspicious..." Vaughn picks up. Rhys visibly winces and screams profanities in his head.

"You were doing the thing weren't you?" Yvette teases, winking playfully and jabbing him in the side.

"In the office." Rhys replies honestly after a short hesitation.

"Well I'm never going in there again then..." Vaughn mutters, suddenly getting the unwanted image of Jack spreading Rhys out over the desk into his head.

"Sounds like something only in books and movies." Yvette giggles.

"During a meeting." Rhys spills. He'd already told half the truth, he might as well say all of it.

"What?! During a meeting?! Ohmygod!" Yvette exclaims, loud enough that the few people in the hall with them glance over in confusion.

"Yvette, shut up." Rhys begs, covering her mouth with his hands as she laughs, rather maniacally into them.

"Bro.. That's pretty dirty. You were under the desk whilst people were in the room with you and Jack?" Vaughn comments, trying to make sense of how the pair weren't caught.

"Yeah... But bro... It was pretty hot." He answers, slowly removing his hands from Yvette's mouth and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Whatever you say buddy." Vaughn replies, not overly sure how to carry the conversation on anymore. An electric bell buzzes over the speakers, signalling the end of their lunch break.

"Thanks for the lunch Rhys. Catch you guys later." Yvette appreciates, standing and waving them off as she walks back toward her department.

"You at Jacks again tonight?" Vaughn questions, beginning a slow walk back toward accounting.

"No bro its game night remember? I've just gotta go pick up my stuff from him and I'll be at home for about sevenish." Rhys calls, walking toward the elevator to the office.

"Awesome, I'll get Skag attack set up for when you get back." Vaughn replies. Rhys gives him the thumbs up before stepping into the elevator and pressing the gold 'H' and the top of the board. Although he loved spending time with Jack and staying at his house, its nice to return home and hang with Vaughn, especially as it was game night. The pair would go through their collection of classic games, have a bag of sugary sweets, a couple of cans of soda and they'd be set till morning. When they have a game night they always have it on Fridays as they sleep through Saturday. The elevator slows to a stop and the doors slide open, allowing Rhys to walk into the office.

"Hey Jack, have youuu....-" he begins before trailing off. He looks at the scene in front of him carefully, taking a couple of seconds to consider if he's going crazy or not. If he was seeing double, then both Jacks would be doing the exact same thing in near enough the same space. But in this situation, one Jack was sitting down on the office chair the other looking over his shoulder at the computer screen in from of them.

"Nope, you're gonna have to tell me what going OK here Jack because I honestly don't have a clue." Rhys announces, holding his hands up in defeat.

"Its OK Kitten. Not many people know now a days," Jack begins, chuckling at the mans confusion, "this is Timothy. He's my body double. Before I became president and CEO this Handsome fella helped me find a vault. It was also the reason why I got the big ass scar on my face, but the kid stuck with me. After I died he went off on his own, staying out of sight. After all if... Certain... People caught me walking around still he'd be killed on the spot.

"Umm, h-hi." Rhys stammers, cautiously climbing the steps to the desk.

"Moxxi said you'd changed, I didn't know it was for another person though." Tim laughs. They even had the same voice... It weirded Rhys out to a brand new level.

"Moxxi?! You've been talking to Moxxi? The traitorous bitch that tried to kill us?" Jack asks, wanting to confirm her heard the name right.

"Tried to kill _you_ Jack. Remember... I did nothing wrong. She's absolutely fine with me." The doppleganger corrects.

"Yeah yeah, details kiddo. So how's she doing? Still pissed with me?" Jack asks, waving his hand in a way to brush the correction off with ease.

"Well, originally she wanted to resurrect you from the grave so that she could kill you again. Needless to say when she heard you were alive again, she wanted to march right up here and put a bullet back through your head. But when she noticed that you hadn't killed anyone for just the pure fun of it since you came back, she wanted to know why... Kinda why I'm here." Tim explains, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"And here I thought you were here to give a friendly hello to your old boss." Jack grins, kicking his feet up onto the desk.

"Well, originally I was." He laughs awkwardly in reply.

"Rhys baby, you plan to stand there all day?" Jack muses, wanting Rhys to sit next to him.

"Well I _was_ planning to get some work done before I went home." He replies, sitting on the corner of the desk, not overly sure how comfortable he was with two Jacks.

"You staying around my place again tonight?" Jack asks, slightly teetering onto what Rhys would class as begging.

"Uh uh game night with Vaughn remember." Rhys declines, shaking his head.

"Saturday?" Jack pleads, pouting his bottom lip slightly.

"Sunday, promise. I have to spend at least a _little_ time in my own home Jack." Rhys replies, chuckling a little.

"How about," Jack begins suddenly wrapping his arms around Rhys' waist and, putting his legs down, drags him to sit comfortably in his lap, "I sleep at yours on Saturday?" Jack purrs, resting his chin in the crook of his neck.

"Wait, you two are together together? I thought you were just working together." Timothy interrupts, a little shocked. He was pretty sure last time he saw Jack, Jack hated everyone but himself.

"Yep. Asked him out a couple of days ago and, lucky me, Kitten said yes." Jack replies. Now he was complimenting people other than himself?!

"He's the reason I'm alive. Carried me all around Pandora as a hologram in his head before coming back to Helios and going through surgery to bring me back to being me again." Jack explains, looking rather lovingly at his partner.

"Wow... You getting all of this Moxxi? He really has changed!" Tim narrates to thin air.

"Moxxi?!" Jack exclaims, suddenly jerking forward, gripping Rhys so he doesn't fall off, "how long have you been listening?" He questions. Tim presses a couple of button on his wrist and Moxxi appears on the computer screen.

"Long enough sugar." She replies. Rhys cheeks blush a hot red at the fact that now two complete strangers to him are getting a look into his and Jacks private life.

"What do you want?" Jack asks, settling back in the chair and pulling Rhys flush to him.

"Just wanted to see if you really had changed and whether I was gunna be putting that bullet in you again honey. But Tim was right giving you a chance. Hard to believe that you've found someone other than yourself to love." Moxxi explains, a slight trace of venom lacing her words. Rhys wasn't too sure that he liked her just yet.

"Not that you and those pathetic vault hunters did me any good." He snarls back, hugging his arms tight around Rhys' hips. Clearly she was stressing him out. Provoking old memories. Its not that he regretted his previous choices, its just... Moxxi was one of those people who betrayed him in the first place so he had that little bit more reason to despise her. Rhys runs a thumb over his hand in an attempt to soothe him.

"C'mon we had a good time in our relationship. Until you destroyed my fucking underdome!" She exclaims, coughing a little as if expelling the sudden rage that had lit up in her voice and face, "you pair should come down to my bar soon." She smiles quirkily.

"I don't think so Mox." Jack refuses, not wanting to spend time with her on call, much less in person.

"That wasn't a request sugar. I want to check your boyfriend out. Rhys was it? Hi honey." She smiles warmly, waving her hand slightly to him.

"Uh-um hi..." He stammers, not too sure at why she was being so friendly toward him.

"You're free on Sunday right? I'll send Tim over to pick you up. Catch ya then." She smirks, quickly ending the call. There's a short silence before Rhys finally opens his mouth.

"Do we have to go?" He asks, not really liking the idea of being back on Pandora and being examined for the whole day.

"Honestly, its probably just easier to go. You don't want Moxxi breathing down your neck." Timothy replies, shrugging his shoulders as if it was nothing.

"He's right." Jack sighs, frustration beginning to get the better of him.

"... But I just got back from that crappy planet!" Rhys whines, rolling his head back to it rests on Jacks shoulder and screws his eyes shut tight. Jack laughs a little, his hand running through the mans hair.

"Anyway, better get going. Mox has probably got another job for me." Tim breathes, lightly jogging down the steps and toward the door.

"Living the dream huh Kiddo?" Jack chuckles, remembering all the times the doppelganger would fantasise about Mad Moxxi, referring to her as his ideal woman.  
"You have nooo idea." He chuckles, opening the door.

"Hey Timothy," Jack calls, stopping the look alike in his tracks as he turns to face him, "it was good seeing you." He finishes, smirking. Timothy nods a grin playing at his lips.

"You too Jack."

* * *

"Jack, where the hell did you put my pyjama bottoms last night?!" Rhys shouts from the lounge up the stairs as Jack was currently collecting his bathroom belonging and putting them in an overnight bag. Things had got a little... _Heated_ in the lounge again last night during a TV program me, which resulted in most of their garments being removed on the couch, before Jack carried Rhys up to the bedroom again. Currently, Rhys was pulling the cushions off the couch, searching underneath and behind them for his blue pyjama trousers.

"That depends Kitten." Jack calls back, obviously amused at the fact that Rhys has been working his ass off for at least ten minuets now looking for his clothing, and has only just figured out that Jack has purposefully hid them.

“Depends on what Jack?” Rhys questions, kneeling next to the couch, looking at the mess he’d made and noting that Jacks voice was getting closer.

“If you let me stay at your’s on Saturday _and_ Sunday night.” he bargains, running his hand over the back of Rhys’ shoulders, before sitting on the edge on the cushion-less couch.

“But I wanna sleep through Saturday. I plan to stay up all night tonight so I’ll be super tired tomorrow…” Rhys whines, rolling his head back.

“I won’t bother you honey I promise. I’ll let you sleep and won’t wake you up at all.” Jack negotiates, making his voice a slightly more high pitch in want.

“Only iff… you make me at _least_ one cup of tea and maybe a snack.” Rhys replies, making it clear that his was his final deal.

“Heh, sure Cupcake.” Jack chuckles, placing his hands on Rhys’ cheeks, pulling him forward lightly and pressing their lips together. Slowly, Rhys’ clambers into Jacks lap, wrapping his arms around his shoulders, melting into the kiss. Reaching behind himself, Jack reveals Rhys’ pyjama bottoms. Snatching them from his partner, Rhys pulls away from Jack giggling in triumph and walking toward his over night bag.

“Thank you kindly.” Rhys sings, zipping up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Jack sighs as he stands and grabs his keys from the kitchen counter.

“C’mon i’ll drive you back.” Jack breathes, directing him by pressing his hand to the small of his back. Exiting the house and locking up, Rhys gets into the most recent car to be parked comfortably into his garage; a silver 1955 Mercedes Benz Gullwing. The doors open upward and, sliding into the lush leather seats, he closes the door back down careful, in fear of damaging the beautiful. Even though he wasn’t into cars, he had to appreciate Jack’s taste. They certainly were amazing… if he had the money, he’d probably try to buy them from the man.

“So if I swing round bout six tomorrow,” Jack begins, turning the ignition, the engine purring into life and pushing the gear stick into gear, “then, you’ll have enough time to sleep and open the door when arrive, without getting grumpy.” he finishes, smirking rather cheekily in Rhys’ opinion.

“Sure, but the lounge might be little messy. Me and Vaughn are planing to have cola and sweets during the night so there’s probably gonna be wrappers everywhere.” Rhys chuckles.

“You don’t have to worry about that Kitten. I plan to stay in your room aalll night.” Jack winks, moving a hand from the gear stick onto Rhys’ knee, sliding it up the inside of his thigh. Rhys shivers slightly as his fingers tickle his skin slightly and arousal pools in the pit of his stomach.

“J-Jack… stop… you’re driving.” Rhys reminds, trying to fin a way to prevent the man from arousing him.

“I can focus on two things at once Babe.” He growls, his fingers continuing to slowly climb up his leg.

“B-But I can’t-“ Rhys breathes, trying to prevent himself from moaning.

“You don’t have to Rhysie, just enjoy it.” Jack smirks, turning on his indicator and turning round the corner with just one expertly.

“No, Jack, stop. I don’t want to return home in a state.” Rhys begs, placing a hand on Jack’s wrist, stilling his hand and advances.

“Okay honey. I’ll stop.” Jack sighs, placing his hand back on the gear stick. “Nice to know that I’m able to put you in such a state that you’re embarrassed to return home.” He chuckles, slowing the car to a stop and parking in the drive of Rhys’ shared home. The pair get out together, Jack insisting that he walks Rhys to the door, along with carrying his bag. After the short walk, Rhys unlocks the door and is about to take his bag from Jack, before he is pressed agains the door and lips slam into his. Their bodies press flush against each others as Jack miles his tongue with Rhys’, his hands sliding under the mans shirt and up his stomach to his chest. Pulling away from his, Jack feels the heavy exhale from Rhys spread over his lips.

“Catch ya later Kitten.” Jack smirks, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. Parting from the younger male, he gets back into his car and turns on the ignition.

Suddenly, Rhys’ back still pressed against the door, most of his weight relying on it, it opens, causing His to fall back and onto the floor. 

“You ok bro?” Vaughn questions, looking down at him from behind the door. 

“Is he laughing at me?” he mutters, reminding flat on the tiles.

“Yep, pretty hard too.” Vaughn confirms, watching as Jack pulls out of the drive and down the street, out of sight. Holding out his hand, Rhys takes it and uses it to pull himself up again.

“What were you doing anyway?” Vaughn asks, unsure at why Rhys was leaning so heavily on the door, “No wait… I don’t wanna know.” he interrupts, noticing the untucked shirt.

“It wasn’t anything rude, just a kiss.” Rhys replies, opening his bedroom door to throw his bag onto his bed.

“It doesn’t look like ‘just a kiss’ from the state of your clothes.” Vaughn argues, jumping onto the couch.

“Can we ignore my appearance and just get to playing games?” Rhys complains, joining his buddy, pulling a cushion close to his chest as he takes the controller offered to him.

“Sure, get ready to get your ass handed to you!” He teases, suddenly hitting competitive mode and gloating about his victory the last time they had game night.

“Hey, that was just a fluke.. y’know, you got lucky. Don’t worry though, this time I’m properly focused!” Rhys retaliates, crossing his legs and leaning forward slightly.

“Yeah, unless Jack texts you.” Vaughn laughs, pressing the start button.

* * *

“Rhys I swear to god if you don’t answer that door, I’m going to kill you!” Vaughn threatens from his room next door, waking Rhys awake to hear the constant ringing from the front door.

“Why do I have to get up?!” Rhys shouts back, hugging the pillow close to his face.

“Because I know who it is! Who else would it be at this time of the day?!” He retaliates. Pulling himself from the sheets, Rhys stumbles out of bed and to the door, taking a few seconds to steady himself on his two feet before shuffling over the the front door. Swinging it open, he winces at the sudden flood of light hitting his half lidded tired eyes and sees Jack grinning at him. All he’s capable of doing right now is grunting at the man, leaving the door open and making his way back to his room. 

“Hey Jack.” Vaughn greets, still remaining in his room, but hearing the front door close as the CEO enters. Since Vaughn and Yvette liked to spend time with Rhys in the office at lunch if he was tied down with work, they had gotten onto a first name basis with Jack, meaning everyone felt a little more comfortable around each other now.

“Hey.” Jack replies, following Rhys into his room and shutting the door to slightly, “See, Vaughn knows how to greet people. Maybe you should learn a thing or two from him.” he teases, sitting on the edge of the mattress as Rhys snuggles down into the sheets once again. He’s able to muster a little scowl from peeking out of the covers, which just causes Jack to coo over how ‘cute’ he was being. Not really the effect he was going for. Rolling his eyes in defeat, Rhys’ arms dart from under the covers, wrapping around Jack’s body, pulling him under the sheets and slamming their lips together.

“Hi.” He whispers, burying his face into Jack’s chest.

“That’s better Pumpkin. Do you plan to get up anytime soon?” he asks, wrapping his arms around Rhys’ lean body pushing the tip of his nose into his hair.

“Nahh, stay in bed with me… fall asleep with me.” Rhys replies, his cheeks flushing red as embarrassment from what he just said begins to sink in.

“Hold on.” Jack mutters, reaching under the covers and unbuckling his belt.

“W-What are you doing?” Rhys stammers, watching as Jack strips down to his boxers, throwing his clothes somewhere onto the bedroom floor.

“I’m not gunna sleep in my everyday clothes kiddo.” He chuckles, wrapping the sheets around them again and hugging Rhys’ close to his chest. The warmth of Jacks skin instantly calms him, causing him to press into him more, to the point where his gentle heartbeat begins to lull him to sleep.

“Night honey.” Jack says in a breathy whispers, planting a kiss on his forehead, literally seconds before he drifts into sleep.

     Rhys’ senses are slowly stimulated by the familiar delicious smell of bacon. The sound of meat sizzling in the grill stirs him gently from his slumber and his eyes flutter open to light illuminating its way through the gap under his door. His bed was empty and the clothes from the floor have gone. Standing up from the mattress, he wraps the sheets around his body, dragging them from the bed and padding bare foot toward his door. Opening his door, just a crack, he looks through, his eyes adjusting to the sudden intake of light, to see Jack at the stove, cracking an egg into a frying pan and flipping on the kettle as he goes. Risking a step into the living room, not having seen his morning appearance yet, Vaughn notices him from the dinning table.

“Morning bro. Have you tried Jack’s cooking?! It’s so good!” Vaughn greets, shovelling a poached egg into his mouth.

“Mornin’.” Rhys croaks, his throat dry and unused.

“Hey, I’m serving you up a plate now princess.” Jack announces, grabbing a plate from the cupboard and taking it over to the stove using a spatular to move two poached eggs and four pieces of bacon onto the previously clean plate. Sitting down next to Vaughn at the table, he wraps the sheets around him tighter, yawning loudly.

“No way are you still tired.” Vaughn chuckles, chewing on a piece of bacon. Rhys simply looks over to him with half lidded eyes as his only response. a plate gets lain down in front of him and Jack catches his chin. Allowing him to direct his face to face toward him, he watches as Jack simply smirks down at him. Licking his thumb, he wipes it against the corner of Rhys’, removing some of the dry saliva from last night. 

“Morning Kitten.” Jack smiles, replacing his thumb with his lips, placing down the cutlery next to the plate. Taking a small bite of bacon, Rhys can’t help but make an appreciative noise in the back for his throat as the fatty meat causes his mouth to water and it falls apart on his tongue.

“It’s good right?!” Vaughn exclaims, rather enthusiastically. Rhys nods strongly.

“Really good! Where’d you learn to cook like that Jack?” Rhys asks, not used to any other type of food other than cereal for breakfast.

“When you have a family, you need to know this stuff Rhysie.” Jack replies, his back facing to the pair, and regret suddenly crawling into Rhys’ head. He knows he probably didn’t mean to make it sound like that… but Rhys feels the atmosphere suddenly drop.

“We’ll take the fast travel down in about an hour, so eat your chow and get ready Cupcake.” Jack informs, serving up his own plate.

“Where you heading?” Vaughn asks. Rhys had never gotten the chance to explain the Jack look a like and the woman named Moxxi on the Echo call, also that they were heading down to see her today.

“Back to _Pandora_.” Rhys moans, rolling his eyes toward his friend.

“Business?” he asks, interested into why Rhys would want to return the planet that they faced death together on countless occasions.

“I wouldn’t even want to go back for _that_ … No, this girl named Moxxi is insisting that she see’s me. You’ll have to ask Jack for the rest of the details, because I have _no_ idea.” Rhys explains, cutting into his poached egg, the yolk spilling out onto his plate and over his knife.

“Long story short, she betrayed my trust not to long ago and was one of the reasons why I was murdered. When she heard that I was alive again, she wanted to kill me again, but she heard that Rhysie here had ‘changed’ me because I haven’t yet murdered someone without reason. So she wants to check him out.” Jack takes over, sitting next to Rhys and folding a full strip of bacon into his mouth.

“You gonna be home for tonight?” Vaughn asks, finishing off his breakfast and laying his cutlery onto the empty plate.

“Yeah, _nothing_ could make me stay on that planet for any longer than a day.” Rhys chuckles, pulling some egg off his fork. Vaughn stands and takes his plate over to the sink, running it under the tap and squirting some washing up liquid over it, beginning to clean it up.

“Uhhh… Not even me?” Jack asks, awkwardly looking down at his plate as he slices his egg in half.

“ _Jaaackk_?” Rhys drones, nervous at were this is heading.

“Yeah Kitt-"

“What aren’t you telling me?” Rhys interrupts, leaning closer to the older man, trying to pry the hidden information from him.

“Well, it’s just-“ Jack hesitates, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Jack!” Rhys moans, leaning back in his chair in annoyance, already knowing what he is going to say.

“Moxxi demanded that we stay the night. To be perfectly honest, she’s not that type of girl you wanna piss off… She already has a guest room set up.” Jack stammers, finally looking Rhys in the eyes.

“Wow you’ve turned so soft.” Rhys mutters, eating another piece of bacon.

“I’d rather have turned soft that have to live without you.” Jack reminds, still not turning back to his breakfast.

“God you’re so cheesy,” Rhys mutters, swallowing his bacon, “Just _one_ night?” He asks, piercing his fork through the soft egg centre. 

“One night, I promise.” Jack replies, happy that an argument hadn’t just evolved between the two of them.


	12. Everyone is Scared of Something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kinda dedicated to just a big fluffy cute moment between Jack and Rhys because... why not? ^^ Enjoy!

“Have fun on Pandora bro!” Vaughn calls from the couch as Jack and Rhys pass by on the way to the front door, Rhys carrying his overnight bag on his shoulder.

“Fun and Pandora shouldn’t be in the same sentence… I’m pretty sure it should be impossible.” Rhys replies, exiting through the door, “I’ll message you when we get down there and if I am close to impending death."

 

 

“Kay.” Vaughn replies, his attention now back on the tv as the door shuts and Rhys and Jack make their way to the public fast travel down the street.

“Don’t look so nervous Pumpkin, everything is gunna be fine.” Jack soothes, wrapping his arm around his hips and pulling their bodies close together whilst they walk.

“Easy for you to say, you don’t seem to be scared of anything.” Rhys mutters, tugging on his bag strap.

“Now, that’s not true, no one is fearless… there are plenty of things that I’m scared of.” Jack points out, looking down at the pavement either to hide his embarrassment of having fears, or not wanting to show any hints to what his fears might be.

“Ohhh?… Like what?” Rhys asks, the confession suddenly perking his interest.

“Maybe we can discuss that another time, right now I wanna focus on making you feel safe and comfortable again. Moxxi won’t hurt you and I’ll protect you from anything Pandora throws at us.” Jack assures, nuzzling his nose into the crook of the other mans neck.

“Promise?” Rhys asks awkwardly, holding out his robotic pinky.

“Promise.” Jack confirms, wrapping his own pinky around Rhys’. The pair finally reach the fast travel and stop directly in front of it.

“I’ll go first, just in case, and I’ll meet you there, ok?” Jack instructs, stepping froward to the machine. Rhys nods firmly, releasing a heavy, rather shaky, breathe. Jack begins to dissipate as he passes through to Pandora. After a short hesitation Rhys follows, selecting the location that Jack had told him. He wasn’t a fan of Fast Travelling. He doesn’t hate him, but he doesn’t necessarily like it. It always felt like a type of palpable goo was being bored over him, causing an electric tingly feeling to spread through his body, lasting for at least five minuets afterwards. It was a type of jet lag… very disorienting. Materialising on the planet, he’s met by the familiar barren landscape that he’d strangely grown used to. They were in a town which, with a few more buildings could probably be classed as a city. It was pretty modern and clean for Pandora’s standards. 

“Whoa, careful kiddo, you look like you’re gunna go over.” Jack chuckles, gripping Rhys’ shoulders and standing him straight.

“I’m good.” Rhys grins, nodding appreciatively toward his partner.

“Moxxi’s is just down the road. You gunna be able to make it there Kitten?” He asks, remembering Rhys telling him about how bad his jet lag could get, depending on how far the fast travel took him. To a completely different planet, with a different atmosphere, was bound to effect him pretty badly.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Rhys replies, leaning some of his weight onto Jack… just in case. Jack smirks, accepting his hidden request for help happily and pulling him in. The pair begin to walk through the streets, Rhys pressed close to Jack’s side, as if he was his protective shield and that, whilst he was so close to him, nothing could get close, no matter about hurt him. With every step, Rhys reminds himself that they’re one step closer to Moxxi’s. He had no idea what to expect. Whether it was a house, a hostel or a hotel… and he certainly didn’t know whether it was any safer. He was just happy it was going to be inside and out of the public eye.From darting all around his surroundings, Rhys’ eyes finally settle on the Jack double waving at them from the other end of the street. He noticing the occasional person whispering to another as they walk past, obviously understanding, seeing Timothy, the this was the real Handsome Jack back on Pandora, not a body double. Rhys is pretty surprised there hasn’t been an attempted assassination yet. Not that he would voice that thought, he didn’t want to jinx any of the good luck that they’ve had so far.

“Moxxi’s inside.” Tim informs, leading the pair into a bar. To Rhys it felt rather tacky… not dirty, but it certainly made him feel that way, and it closely resembles a stripper bar. It didn’t look exactly safe, but it was certainly a lot more inviting than the scary faces outside.

“You don’t have to look so scared Rhys, everyone in this town is under strict orders not to attack you or Jack. Well, until Moxxi finally gives her verdict on whether or not Jack should leave this planet alive.” He chuckles, leading the pair to the main bar counters.

"Not really helping.” Rhys calls over the fairly loud music, which had just a bit too much bass for his liking. 

“Hey, Mox.” Tim greets, grabbing the girls attention behind the counter. Rhys’ eyes become a little overwhelmed by the amount of purple she’s wearing. If the fabrics were any shorter and tighter, he’s pretty sure there’d be no point to them as he chest is almost falling out of the revealing torso section and the bottom was just a piece of rectangular cloth. Her makeup was… different. Pretty but different. But this is Pandora. She didn’t really look like the type of person that you wouldn’t want to cross with a gun, but looks can always be deceiving. Look at Jack, a Handsome guy on the outside and a sadistic arsehole on the inside. Well, used to be. He, Rhys, was another good example, President material on the outside, absolutely clueless on the inside.

"Hey Sugar," She replies, smiling warmly to him, "Its good to see you pair." She states, turning her attention to Jack and Rhys.

"No it's not Mox, you just wanna check Rhys out and decide whether to shoot me or not." Jack drones, folding his arms in a rather unimpressed matter.

"Jack!" Rhys hisses, elbowing his partner in the side, "Be nice!" He orders. He understands what has happened between these pair and why it would make Jack act the way he is, but in all honesty, he wanted to leave Pandora alive and with a boyfriend so he didn't want an argument.

"It's ok honey, he has the right to be like that to me. Honestly Jack it is a lot nicer to see you than I thought it would've been, being as the last time we met, you were a complete dick!" She replies, rounding the counter and standing in front of the three, "You're looking as good as ever though. If you didn't have a boyfriend, I'd be slightly regretting my decision of dumping you. Could you take Jack up to his room Sugar? I'm going to have a little chat with the boyfriend here." She requests, taking Rhys' overnight bag and handing it over to Timothy. She grips Rhys' arm and begins to lead him off toward the back, him very conflicted about the idea, looking over his shoulder to Jack.

"Moxxi I swear to go, don't hurt him!" Jack growls, walking after Tim.

"Honey don't worry. I have no need to hurt him. Besides I don't want to start another war between us." She calls back, pulling a the leaver on a slot machine. After getting three identical images in a row, it begins to flash and make some loud, stereo noises congratulating the user on their win. A compartment shoots out, revealing a button, which she presses, causing a wall to slide into itself and opening a backroom. She leads him inside and he quickly finds out that it's a garage. Probably her secret hobby being as it's separated from everywhere else.

"C'mon Sugar, let me take a look at'cha." She grins, standing him straight and looking him up and down, "Well I can certainly see why he picked ya. You're a handsome one aren't cha darlin'?" She compliments, putting a hand on her hip.

“T-Thanks.” Rhys stammers, his robotic arm reaching over to grab his flesh arm, the feeling and awkwardness weighing down on him.

“Don’t worry honey, I’m not gonna kill ya.” She giggles, obviously noticing his weariness of her.

“Well, you’d be the first person on Pandora to do anything _other_ than try and kill me.” Rhys mutters.

“So you’ve been down on Pandora before then?” She asks, offering Rhys a mug of, what he thinks is, tea. So not to be rude, he takes the drink, holding it between his hands. He was fairly certain that she already knew the story of him and Jack from when she was eavesdropping when Timothy visited, but she was probably checking the authenticity.

"Yeah… We wanted to screw over an arsehole in Hyperion by buying a Vault key before he could.” He begins, rolling the mug around in his palms.

“Sooo, not Jack then?” She laughs to herself, “How exactly did you plan to buy this Vault Key? I mean, not to be rude Sugar, but you don’t exactly look as if you have the money it takes to buy a Vault Key.” She observes.

“We- uh- We stole money from Hyperion.” He stammers, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I bet you were popular with Jack when he found that out. How much did you steal?” She asks, obviously excited that someone had managed to successfully steal from one of the biggest companies in the universe.

“Well, he kinda had to put up with it I suppose. I mean I was his only route back up to Helios being as he _was_ living in the back of my head. We managed to spend, and lose, ten million dollars.” Rhys explains, chuckling slightly at the memories.

“You lost it?!” She gapes.

“It’s a long story that involves a fake vault key, two con artists and a bunch of bandits trying to kill us.” He sighs, trying to brush it off, not really wanting to have to re explain the story.

“Well I have a lot of time Sugar. You and Jack can tell me about it later. But I’ll take you up to your room for now and you can spend some time with pretty boy.” She grins, taking the untouched drink from him and putting it back on the side, leading him out into the main bar again.

* * *

“We’re in separate rooms?!” Rhys whines as Jack joins him in his room and sits next to him on his bed.

“Unfortunately so kiddo. Moxxi was pretty insistent on it. Don’t panic though Kitten, you’ll be fine. If you need me, you just have to come and see me.” Jack smiles warmly, brushing his hand through his amber hair, soothing the other man as much as he can. 

“I’ll be glad when we’re back home… or on Helios…” Rhys sighs, falling back onto his mattress, his arms spreading out and his eyes closing, imaging the familiar atmosphere of the office and home life. The exciting feeling in the pit of his stomach of when they had secret sex in the office. He exhales heavily, a thick smile spreading onto his lips.

“What’cha thinking about Pumpkin?” He sings, leaning over Rhys, arms on either side of his head, his knees pressing against the outside of his thighs.

“Just our day in the office.” He smirks, bringing his arms up to wrap around Jack’s neck.

“Any specific day, or…?” Jack purrs, moving his left hand to play along the younger mans jawline.

“Oh, you know what day.” Rhys breathes, biting the inside of his bottom lip.

“I think I do… That was one hell of a day Kitten, but, you might have to remind me.” He whispers, huskily, making every motion come across as seductive and wanting. His thumb presses and runs along Rhys’ bottom lip, his eyes trained on its flesh and he licks his own, making it very clear to Rhys exactly what he wanted to do. Their faces draw closer and their lips press flush together, pecking against each other’s skin, gradually growing more passionate. Their tongues slide and move against each others, the noises of messy wet kisses filling the once quiet space. The noises slowly begin to be interrupted by quick frantic breathes.

“Jack…” Rhys begins, building up as much courage as he can muster before he says his next words, “We haven’t said it yet, but… I love you.” He breathes. He was a bit uncertain about saying it. It wasn’t that he was unsure about his feelings toward the man above him, it’s just he understood his past and how it might be difficult for him to admit to it again. After all, from what he understands, he loved his wife dearly and his feelings might be conflicted by the fact that she was the last person he admitted to. After a couple of seconds of awkward silence, and Rhys’ hope suddenly draining from him, Jack finally opens his mouth to speak. Butterflies tickle his insides and his stomach flips at least twice.

“I love you too.” He smirks, nuzzling his nose into the crook of his neck. Rhys breathes a heavy sigh of relief, pulling Jack closer as his lips begin to press and trail along the sensitive skin of his neck.

“God I love you _so_ _much_.” He repeats, his weight shifting onto his elbows as his hands tangle into Rhys’ hair.

“It doesn’t matter how much you love him, Moxxi wants you to go to your own room now.” They’re suddenly interrupted by Timothy’s voice from the door. He’s leaning up the door frame, a rather cocky look on his face, probably satisfied that, for a change, he was giving Jack orders, rather than the other way round.

“Fu- I hate you! Could you have chosen a worse time to come barging in?” Jack questions, climbing off of Rhys.

“Well, Moxxi told me to send you back to your room as soon as I got up here so…” Tim shrugs, talking to Jack as if he was a disobedient child. Rhys was pretty surprised that Jack was letting him get away with it without threatening or hitting him, but maybe there was a bond between a man and his doppleganger that he didn’t understand. Kinda like a sibling relationship he supposes.

“Why do we have to be in separate rooms anyway?” Rhys asks, a little confused at why he was being seperated by the one person that made him feel safe on this death wish planet at the moment.

“Because, even though Moxxi is know for running rather _risqué_ bars, she’d prefer it if you pair didn’t get up to any… _mature_ activities in her home.” Timothy replies, folding his arms as he continues to lean up the doorframe.

“Don’t worry Kitten, I’ll be just down the hall if you need me. Try to get some sleep, ‘kay?” Jack reminds, standing from the bed and pressing a kiss on Rhys’ forehead. “G’night.” He waves, leaving the room.

“Night…” Rhys sighs, watching in disappointment as his partner leaves through the door and down the hall.

“I’ll catch you tomorrow Rhys.” Timothy nods, pushing from the doorframe.

“Night Tim.” Rhys bids fair well, standing and waiting for the door to be shut to begin undressing and getting changed into his pyjamas. Slipping under the sheets, he turns the bedside lamp off and settles down into bed, pressing his head hard into his pillow. Closing his eyes, he tries to send himself to sleep, ignoring the fact that he was back on Pandora and pretending he was back at home in his cosy bed. His bed which the mattress dips slightly down in the middle because it was so old and he kept saying to himself that he would go out and buy another one, but always getting put off by tog numbers. Maybe he’d ask Jack to come mattress shopping with him one day. After all, he imagines that he’ll be spending more nights in bed with him in the future. They might as well pick one that they’ll both be comfortable in. What the hell is he thinking? They’d only just made it official that they were going out with each other, now he was making it sound as if they were thinking about living together. Although, that’s a pretty nice thought, that he wouldn’t mind making a reality. Opening his eyes to glance at the red digital numbers of the alarm clock, he is brought out of his dreams and the horrible reminder that he is in a very foreign surrounding. An hour had passed since Jack has left to go into his own room and he was missing him like it had been a month. Time to try a different daydream. What about… imagining that he was in Jacks bed? He tried to recreate the smell of Jacks very recognisable cologne that always brought Rhys’ stress and fear levels down to the point where he could relax in knowing that Jack was close by. But, the feeling of Jack’s bed was still unknown to him as he’d only been in it a couple of times and it was very difficult to imagine the heat of someone lying next to you. Plus, the noises of gunfire and distant explosions from outside were always ringing in his ears. He could’ve sworn that last sound was a scream from fairly close by. His eyes spring open, sleep slowly becoming a longest wish as shadows begin to play and flash across the walls. His mind was becoming his main enemy, turning every shadow into a type of monster that could be right outside his window, seconds away from crashing through and getting him. He couldn’t take it anymore. Standing, he uses his robots arm as a flashlight to illuminate his way to the door. As he felt incredibly insecure and unsafe, he’d decided to sleep with his arm on. As uncomfortable as it was, he felt a lot better with it on and in his sight. Opening the door he peers outside into the gloomy corridor, shadows from various objects around the area made it even more disorientating. Which way was Jack’s room again? He was in the centre of the corridor so he has the options of both left and right. He was fairly certain that Jack went left, but he wasn’t positive. Besides, he’d have another four doors to chose from if he _did_ decide to go that way. Whimpering slightly, he shuts the door again and quickly retreats to his bed. Tears begin to prick at his eyes as the fear nibbling away at him began to take very large bites and it was becoming way too much. Suddenly, however, his panic attack is halted as a thought enters his head. Holding his robotic palm out, he begins to dial Vaughn’s number. The familiar face pops up onto the screen.

“What are you calling at this time in the morning for?” Vaughn drones, tiredly, rubbing his eyes and reaching to his bedside table to slide his glasses onto his face. The signal was terrible, so the connection was the worst he’d experienced, even for his echo technology. True he didn’t have the most up-to-date software… or hard drive for that matter, but the echo devices were still pretty advanced. Vaughn’s face was slightly fuzzy, occasionally breaking up, but quickly correcting itself.

“I’m scared bro.” Rhys admits, not even embarrassed at this stage.

“You m-ean you’re not dead yet? Or are you abo-ut to be?” He jokes, chuckling to himself, stifling an impending yawn. The audio and picture froze a couple of times during the last sentence.

“Don’t even joke about it. Me and Jack aren’t allowed to be in the same room so I’m alone… on _Pandora_. I’m pretty sure someone just got _shot_ outside my room.” Rhys warns, his voice with an incredibly stern and serious tone.

“Yo- need to ca-lm down buddy. Why don- you just go t-o Jack’s ro-m?” Vaughn asks, trying to calm his friend down, the connection getting considerably worse and deteriorating by the second.

“Because I can’t remember what room he’s in.” Rhys whines, pouting.

“W--t? Bro -ou’r-e break-ng u-p” Vaughn says, his video feed freezing occasionally and the audio lagging a couple of milliseconds behind the movements of his mouth.

“I said, I can’t find his room.” Rhys repeats, trying to not raise his voice as it might wake people up and it probably wouldn’t help the situation he was in anyway.

“I c-n- he-“ Vaughn begins, before the inevitable happens. The video and audio comes to an abrupt halt, and the call and plunging Rhys back into that unwelcoming darkness. His hand falls down next to his face on his pillow and the tears that had begun to form in the corners of his eyes slip down his cheeks, dampening the pillow cases underneath his head. Turning his body onto his stomach, he buries his face into the plump feather pillow and releases all his fears into it. He sobs and cries, all the noises being muffled by the fabrics. His fists curl into the sheets, brining them up to his face as he tilts his head to face the wall, inhaling large amounts of air, getting ready to turn his head back into the pillow to cry again. Suddenly, hands grips his shoulders, which cause him to cry out. Well he would, if a hand moves from his shoulder and onto his mouth, preventing any loud noises. 

“Shh. Calm down Kitten. You’re ok. It’s me.” Jack soothes, lying down next to him.

“J-Jack..? Jack!” Rhys cries, burying his face into Jack’s bare chest and crying some more. Jack holds him tightly, his hands stroking his head and the occasional kiss pressing to his forehead, or ‘shh’ gradually soothing the younger man. He’s incredibly patient with him, hugging him tightly, allowing him to cry for as long as he need to and not being bothered by the tears wetting the skin on his chest and the robotic arm gripping him a little tighter than what can be classed as comfortable.

“You ok now?” Jack whispers, after Rhys’ sobbing and tears begin to slow to a stop. He nods gently into his chest.

“Told you I would protect you.” Jack chuckles, trying to cheer his partner up at least a little bit. He feels Rhys giggle slightly against him, which brings a smile to his face, knowing he was able to soothe him down enough to the point where he could laugh again.

“C-Can you… stay here for the rest of tonight? I don’t want to be on my own anymore.” Rhys stammers, feeling little blush heat up his cheeks.

“I didn’t really plan to leave. I’d rather face the wrath of an angry Moxxi than leave you in the state you’re in.” Jack replies, looking down at him. At some point, Rhys became so calmed and comfortable that he was finally able to drift of to sleep, his body encased in in Jacks arm, his own flesh arm draped over Jack’s hip. Smiling with sleepy, drunken love, Jack finally feels, for the first time tonight, that he can go to sleep safely and at ease, knowing that the one person he cared most about was sleeping peacefully in his arms.

* * *

“I gave you guys separate rooms for a reason y’know!” Moxxi exclaims, the door swinging open, jolting both men awake. After realising they weren’t in any immediate danger, Jack lets his head fall back down onto the shared pillow.

“Timothy Lawrence get up right now!” Moxxi orders, in an attempt to panic Rhys. However, he doesn’t move, just continues to comfortably lie in his partners arms.

“You can’t pull that on me Moxxi. I know this is Jack.” Rhys mutters, yawning at the sudden wake up call they received.

“How can you tell the difference. I’m supposed to be the perfect copy.” Tim asks, his presence suddenly appearing at the door as he walks into view.

“I just… can. I’ll always be able to tell the difference.” He shrugs, nuzzling his face into Jack’s chest.

“Why’d you switch rooms Jack?” Moxxi interrogates, her hands falling onto her hips, cocking an eyebrow awaiting an answer.

“Rhys didn’t want to stay here in the first place. He only did it for me. He hated this planet the last time he was on it and he was scared shitless.” Jack begins to explain, Rhys hugging closer to him feeling the awkwardness fill his personal atmosphere, “He tried to call a friend in an attempt to calm down, but the connection is terrible on this shitty planet. I couldn’t just leave him on his own when he was panicking for his life. I stayed here so he could get at least _some_ sleep.” he finishes, rounding up the incredibly long night in just mere seconds. There’s a scary silence, which is, thankfully, short lived, because Moxxi breaks it.

“Well, in all honesty, I’m kinda glad you came and slept in here. It lets me come to the strong decision, that I _won’t_ regret letting you off Pandora _alive_. You really have changed. Something which me, and a lot of others, didn’t think was possible. Convincing Lilith might be a little difficult, but she’ll come round.” Moxxi grins, acting as if what she’d just said was no biggy. To Rhys… it was a big biggy! It meant that he wouldn’t have to fight Moxxi for Jack and he was able to leave this planet happy and with his boyfriend.

“I understand that CEO’s/President’s have a lot of work and business on their plates, so I’ll let you get back to it whenever you want. But, you have to visit.” She rounds up, getting ready to leave the room again. Jack simple lets a ‘uh-huh’ rumble in the back of his throat as his way of saying that he was listening to every word she said...

“I _mean_ it Handsome Jack! Me and Timothy wanna see you again. Maybe even be invited up to your fancy space station one day.” She hisses seriously. Rhys has only just been reminded that it’s Monday.

“When do you wanna head back up to Helios?” he asks, looking up at Jack with half lidded eyes.

“Ehhh, lets just lie here for a bit. We don’t have a lot of work and if we do, we have all week to catch up on it. No problem.” Jack replies, hugging Rhys closer, pressing his lips tenderly to his forehead. If Jack had told him this last night, he probably would of protested and disagreed within an instant, but he’d calmed down a lot since then and he felt so comfortable and safe that, as long as he was with Jack, he wasn’t really that bothered about remaining on Pandora for a little bit longer. He’d even go as far to say that he wouldn’t mind walking around the town a little. His favourite drink _did_ originate from Pandora, and he’s fairly certain Vaughn and Yvette’s favourite snacks did too.

“Um, Jack..? Do we have to head back, straight away?” he asks, his eyes scanning around the fairly bare room.

“I thought you’d want to leave as soon as possible?” Jack chuckles, looking down at his partner with a cocked eyebrow.

“Well, I kinda wanna have a look around. Last time I was on this Planet, I didn’t really have the best experience, so I would like to rewrite some of that. Besides, some of my favourite drinks and snacks are on Pandora and I wouldn’t mind getting some.” Rhys replies.

“Well, I can’t guarantee that this place will be any less shitty that the rest of the planet, but sure Pumpkin.” Jack agrees, smirking as he closes his eyes again.

“We don’t have to spend long here, just enough time to see if they have the snacks and drink.” Rhys says, not wanting to make it sound as if he was forcing Jack or that he desperately wanted to remain on Pandora.

“We can spend as long as you want here. Don’t worry about it Kitten.” Jack assures. Rhys settles back down, their bodies pressed flush against one another, just snoozing. Not fully awake, but only teetering on the verge of sleep.

 


	13. SpaceTime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the other day I started taking Pilot lessons because a friend of the family can fly (propeller planes not jets XD ) and I really wanted to write about Jack giving a lesson towards Rhys cause I thought I could make it super cute. This chapter also kinda lost its way so I apologise if it seems like I'm chatting away, but I've planned it now so the next chapter will hopefully be back up to standard if this one isn't XD

"Ohhh, this is awesome!" Jack exclaims in excitement, bounding toward the brand new jet in the hanger. The pair had only just got back from Pandora and a notification had come through on Jacks echo telling him that his brand new air craft had just arrived and was ready for its first flight. Normally Jack would have a pilot to fly him where ever he wanted to go but he'd asked for this jet especially so he can fly it himself. Maybe even use it to impress the new boyfriend. After there time on Pandora, he was in a fairly showy off mood. He could use another ego boost.

"I-I've never flown before." Rhys stammers, "Maybe I should just stay with control." He mutters, his nerves getting the better of him. Humans were born without out wings for a reason, to remain on the ground. Humans are land mammals. Rhys would prefer it to stay that way.

"No way Kitten, I want you with me to test this beauty out! Maybe I can teach you." Jack insists, giving a sly wink to the younger man as he grips his wrist and drags him toward the plane. If Rhys had had a traumatic experience, then he'd cut him some slack, but he hadn't. He'd never even step foot near a plane. He needed to get over his fear and just take this risk. If he didn't like it, then fair enough. But Jack wasn't letting him say no without even trying it. It was Hyperion yellow, naturally, but had a gloss finish to it which gave it a rather golden sheen. All the accents and add ons were either in a pristine silver or matte black. 

“Don’t look so nervous Babe, I’ve been flying for longer than I’ve been working for Hyperion. You’re in safe hands.” Jack soothes, leading him into the cockpit. Sitting him down, he straps him down, pulling tightly on the seatbelt to make sure that it was secure and then buckles his own belt. Rhys’ hands have moved to grip the arm rests, his knuckles turning white and his back pressed hard into the back of the seat. Jack begins to flip some switches, muttering some numbers to himself, pumping a small leaver as he goes. Pre flight checks. Holding a small button on the dash in front of him, a light under a speaker illuminates red.

“This is Golf- Lemur- Hotel ready for take off.” Jack announces over the coms to control.

“Golf- Lemur- Hotel roger.” They replies back. Jack slowly taxis onto the runway and lines up. A sign next to the blue holo-shields begins to flash, signalling that they were able to phase through without being blow up or attacked. The engine begins to build in noise as the jet slowly shifts forward.

“Ohmygod I really hope you know what you’re doing!” Rhys breathes, screwing his eyes shut and swallowing thickly.

“Don’t worry about it Princess.” Jack chuckles, not too sure how to calm his partner down when all his attention has been turned onto taking off. He brings the Jet up to speed, pulling down on the steering gradually, pulling the Jet up and flying it expertly out of the Helios station and into the space abyss. After a couple of minuets, he brings it to a comfortable level and course, his hands levelling out the steering and cruising steadily. 

“See honey, nothing to worry about.” He smirks, pulling his eyes from the front window and over to Rhys. They have exited the atmosphere of Helios, so various parts of clothing and hair was now floating separately. 

“Open your eyes Kitten. Trust me, you’ll love it.” Jack suggests, chuckling to himself when he sees Rhys’ eyes are still screwed tightly shut. Very cautiously, Rhy’s eyes slowly begin to crack open and is met by the many variations of purples and blue blending together and fading to whites and blacks. Various dots of bright stars are scattered around, standing prominent against the colours of space. A breathy whisper of ‘wow’ escapes Rhys’ lips as his fear of flying his suddenly forgotten and his face near enough presses against the window, trying to get the largest view of the scene that is normally covered by walls and frosted glass.

“See, told ya you’d be fine.” Jack grins cockily, “You can get up and move around it you want.” He says, reaching round and, making his body stretch a little, opening the door to the plush white leather seats and varnish wood side table. Unbuckling his seat belt, Rhys goes to walk to the back of the jet, wanting to have a look around and the expensive aircraft, but totally forgets they are in zero gravity. He’d never had to manoeuvre himself in this type of atmosphere, so to him its very disorientating. Grabbing the doorframe, he pulls himself forward, with a little too much strength, and propels rather quickly toward the end of the jet. He brings himself to an abrupt stop when he grips the leather couch, which is opposite the table and armchairs.

“This is so weird.” Rhys mutters, trying to steady himself when he notices he is slowly tilting upside down. Jack unbuckles himself and, switching the jet to auto pilot, he moves over to Rhys, angling him upright.

“Never been in zero G sweetie?” Jack chuckles, watching as Rhys continues to try and stay upright.

“You’d think me being on a space station, I would’ve huh?” Rhys replies, shaking his head and giggling slightly. Jack’s eyes have become trained on the pink of Rhys’ lips and, after Rhys begins to notice the sudden silence, he wraps his arms around his waists and pulls their bodies flush together and slams their lips against one another's.

"A zero gravity make out would be pretty sweet." Jack murmurs, his thumb running along the bottom of his partners lips. Another experience he hasn't yet had that he'd totally be up for with Rhys. Before he's able to engage the hot session, Rhys beats him to it, a hand catching his chin and pulling their faces together again. Their lips merge and work together, slotting perfect fit into one another's and slipping from each others grasp occasionally. Rhys pushes his way into Jacks mouth, his tongue curcling upward to trace along the roof of his mouth, the tip of his tongue following the grooves of where his teeth are embedded in his gums. Jack slides his on the underside of his tongue, causing him to groan slightly at the tickling sensation it was elicting. With each movement against each other, Jack's hands are quick to undo Rhys' shirt buttons and Rhys' fingers playing into Jacks hair, they were slowly shifting around the cabin in the zero gravity, to the point where Rhys' back touches briefly onto the ceiling before hovering just slightly underneath. Jack’s hands slide smoothly up Rhys’ stomach and over his chest, his thumbs pressing and circling around his nipples. Rhys tries really hard to keep his hips still, but they buck into Jack’s without him telling them to. His mind suddenly focused on the unexpected movement, Rhys is forced to pull from Jack in a fit of laughter and the two drift to the other side of the cabin because of his movement. Jack laughs with him, pressing their foreheads together the tent in their trousers being ignored.

“Safe to say Zero Gravity _sex_ would be a bad idea.” Jack chuckles.

“Still be fun though.” Rhys breathes, his eyes being drawn to Jack’s slightly parted lips.

“Oh, definitely… We could always give it a try.” Jack smirks, his once parted lips being pulled together by his teeth biting back his bottom lip. Rhys leans forward, kissing the other man again.

“Maybe another time.” Rhys replies, pressing their lips together again briefly. Rhys begins to pull himself back toward his seat in the cockpit, Jack following suit.

“The view is great from in here.” Rhys breathes, completely awestruck by the colours and stars.

“I dunno, I’d say the view is better from back here.” Jack comments, his lips pursing as his eyes follow Rhys’ butt swaying from side to side as he moves forward. Rhys’ cheeks flush red, not wanting to comment in case he says something to embarrass himself even more. Rhys is about to sit down in the seat he occupied for take off, but Jack grabs his unbuttoned blouse and pulls him over to the pilots seat.

“W-What? No Jack, please-“ Rhys begs, already knowing where this was going, and not overly liking the idea of having the responsibility of such an expensive big aircraft.

“Don’t worry sweetie, I’ll guide you through it.” Jack promises, pressing a reassuring kiss to the crook of his neck. Taking his hands, he directs them to wrap around the wheel, wrapping his own hands around the other mans. Flipping the controls of auto pilot, Rhys feels the tug of the wheel as the engine is suddenly in his control.

"So , you see this needle here? This shows how level you are. You wanna keep that as straight through the middle as you can, unless you need to turn and stuff. Don't wanna end up upside down by mistake." Jack chuckles, watching his wide eyes flick to where Jack was pointing for a second, before quickly pulling back to look in front of him. There's a short silence between them as Rhys, slowly, begins to relax into the sensation, before he can feel Jacks hands pulling from his.

"N-No, Jack-" he begins, but he stops himself by sucking in a sharp breathe through his nose as he sees Jack strap himself down in the co pilots seat. He was on his own now. Flying a jet. Well, not fully on his own, Jack would take over if anything went wrong but... He was driving a fucking jet! He can't halo but giggle slightly at the sudden adrenaline rush. It wasn't everyday that you could get home and say you flew a jet! His attention is caught, however, by his echo eye lighting up and scanning two solar systems, several stars and almost every button and switch on the jets interface. He winces as all the information floods into his brain, making his eyes screw shut. Jack picks up on it as his finger darts forward, flipping auto pilot back on. Rhys releases the wheel and tangles his fingers into his hair, only relaxing until the pain subsides.

"You ok princess?" Jack asks, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Y-yeah. My eye just, scanned _everything._ " He answers, shaking his head slightly, trying to dispel the drowning feeling his brain was feeling, the new information being quickly archived in his memory bank.

"C'Mon, I'll take us in for landing and we'll call it a day for flight lessons." Jack insists, switching seats with him and hailing control again.

* * *

"Shit, c'mon Kitten, we're gunna be late!" Jack calls up the stairs as Rhys preens himself in the bathroom. He's stayed over Jacks again last night, watching a movie which had involved the living dead and scaring the absolute crap out of Rhys to the point where he had crawled into Jacks lap for protection, pillow and blankets placed tactically around his body. Tonight agenda consisted of a Hyperion celebration party at the nightclub Opulent. Jack and Rhys had just pulled of a deal with Maliwan which had racked in a fair amount of cash for the company. It was a fairly pretty celebration mind, the only invited guests being friends and close co workers. Unfortunately, Rhys had been kept awake by imaginary noises all night, causing him to catch up on his sleep during the day, making him late now. When the pair had finally managed to make it out of the door and to the club, they were greeted with a crowd of about 16 people, all Hyperion, Vaughn and Yvette included, the only exceptions being Sasha and Fiona who had been invited to celebrate in such a big success, whether it benefitted them or not. Rhys guessed they were just there because they wanted a night out. Currently, memebers of the group had managed to convince Rhys to join them on the dance floor, insisting that he at least do a little bit of dancing. Being as this was a celebration, and he'd already had two drink already, he thought why not? It's not that he can't hold his liquor or that he was in anyway drunk or tipsy, he was just feeling a little daring and adventurous. He could hear Yvette and Vaughn laughing from the bar, watching as the small group of people didn't some pretty weird dance moves. No one was taking it seriously. No one, until Handsome Jack waltzed onto the multicoloured ever changing tiles. He managed to break Rhys silly dancing pattern into a rather raunchy risque one. Normally, Rhys would be blushing like crazy, maybe even pushing the man away as their hips grinded together and the half hard member against his ass, but he'd gotten to the point where he really didn't care who was watching, Hyperion or not. Who had the guts to question the CEO's of the biggest company in the universe? Who had the guts to say something against Handsome Jack? When the heavy bass song ends, Rhys is forced to go and get a drink, his throat tight and dry from the excessive movement and stuffy room. He managed to describe the drink Jack had bought him the first time he had come here with enough detail that the bartender knew what he was talking about it. He was about to head outside to get some fresh air into his lungs. Before his path is blocked by an unknown person. His build was fairly average. Well, he had a few more muscles that Rhys did. He was similar to Jacks height and stance.

"I-I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but notice, is that an Echo eye?" The stranger questions, a slight tinge of excitment in his voice. Ah, so someone did notice. Maybe it was his software, but the ey had scanned another random object earlier. He thought he'd got away with it, as scanning things and people sometimes make him feel awkward, but obviously not.

"Oh, hah, yeah." Rhys chuckles awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh man! I know the guy who created them! It's so cool to see one in action." He exclaims.

"Oh, really? That pretty awesome." Rhys comments, feeling awkward in a conversation with a complete stranger, "I wasn't exactly supposed to scan things earlier. There's a glitch or something which makes it.. do that occasionally." Rhys explains.

"Hey, I can give that a look for you if you want? I know all about the things. We can go into the garden area and I can give it the once over." He offers, already heading of outside.

"Uh, yeah sure." Rhys hesitates. He'll let him _look_ , if he begins to get hands on with it then he'll definetly draw the line. Following the man outside, not forgetting his drink, he see the owner of the club looking rather confused.

"Hey buddy, you ok?" Rhys calls, watching as he parts himself down and goes to scratch his head.

"Mr. Rhys, I seem to have lost the men's bathroom keys. Their not on the hook. You haven't happened to see them have you?" He chuckles, feeling rather silly at misplacing such a thing.

"No I haven't, but I'll let you know if I do." Rhys nods in promise, watching as the shorter man scurried back inside.

"Wait, your Rhys? As in CEO of Hyperion?!" The stranger gasps, grabbing his attention again, standing a little close for comfort.

"Heh, yeah. Normally the main topic is Jack though." Rhys smirks, feelling a rush of happiness as the man with the dyed purple mowhawk recognises him.

"Well people talk about you too. It's not all about Handsome Jack anymore." He points out, insisting Rhys sits down so he can get a proper view of his eye. Taking a quick swig from his drink, he sits still as his eye is inspected and frowned at. There aren't words for a while, just hums and grunts in either thought or disapproval. Obviously there was something wrong with it. Rhys is about to ask for a conclusion when his vision suddenly wobbles and his eyes feel heavy. Screwing his eyes shut, he pulls his head upright.

"M-Mr Rhys? Are you ok?" The man questions, concern in his tone as he watches the colour drain from Rhys' face. Rhys' hand darts to his mouth as he can feel the gut wrenching feeling pull at his stomach, warning him he was ready to empty the contents inside. Standing, a little to quickly causing him to stumble. He staggers to the bathroom, throwing his head over a sink. Everything suddenly feels different. His legs begin to shake, eventually collapsing underneath him, the world spinning as he falls.

"Hard to believe that someone in charge of Hyperion and partner with Handsome Jack would fall victim to such a simple drug." His voice sneers, the bathroom door being locked being the last thing that Rhys hears before he completely black out.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Rhys?" Jack asks, scanning his eyes over the outdoor area. The club was closing up for the night and Rhys was supposed to be heading back with Jack.

"I thought he was with you." Sasha comments, joining Jack in the doorway.

"He was chatting to some guy by the bar. About his Echo eye I think." Vaughn adds.

"Wait, boss?" Fiona calls, the owner popping his head up from the bar at being called, "didn't you say you'd lost the keys to the men's bathroom?" She asks, walking across the outdoor section to the now closed bathroom door.

"Yeah. I still haven't found it either." He replies, running a cloth around a glass, joining Jack, Vaughn, Yvette and Sasha at the doorway. They watch as Fiona tugs on the handle.

"So how can it be locked now?" She asks. Jack immediately jolts into action running to the door and tugging on it himself.

"There's no other way to open this door?" Jack calls over his shoulder. The owner shakes his head.

"I'll pay for the damage." He promises, taking a couple of steps back before ramming his shoulder into the wood. It dents and splinters, but not enough for them to gain access. After a coupled of good kicks with the sole of his foot, the door swings open on its hinges, the key falling to the floor from the now useless lock with a clatter.

"Well, there's the key." Fiona mutters, following Jack as he stoops down to a fairly battered and broken Echo comm. Hyperion issued. He was on call tonight. If anything happened up on Helios that needed the higher ups assistance, Rhys would've been contacted. So what was it doing on the floor of a nightclub bathroom? Taking it in his hands he sees the familiar engraving upon closer inspection.

"Jack?" Yvette calls, the groups noticing as his knuckles turn white, his grip tightening on the com's device.

"Fucking bandits!" He screams, standing and throwing it mwith such a force that when it hits the floor, it's shatters into individual pieces.

"We all need to get back up to Helios." He orders, barging past everyone and leading them to the closest fast travel. Opening his own Echocom he calls up another ally for assistance.

"Jack you better have a good time calling me this early in the morning." Moxxi seethes.

"Rhys has been kidnapped." Jack replies, taking longer strides than usual, the group behind him struggling to keep up.

"I'll get Timothy and meet you up at Helios now sugar." She offers her help, before he even needs to ask for it.

 


	14. The Consequences of Kidnapping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long to post guys. My parents have been away so it was literally party after party for me XD I also apologise for the quality, I don't think this is my best written chapter, but I was really struggling to think of ideas and good descriptions. I'll try to do better with the next one and I hope you enjoy regardless :)

 

Papers were scattered everywhere, more fluttering down from the air to join the various different accumulating piles. Jack was venting his anger. They were stacks that had built up on the office desk over the past week and now, running out of available paper, he was rummaging through various draws, pulling out scrap paper that was years old, the paper turning an aged yellow, also joining the sheets on the floor.  
"Jack you need to stop. We're all worried for Rhys." Fiona speaks up, daring to put herself in the line of fire for the sake of the janitor who should have to come in here later to clean it up.

"I should've been watching him! I should've been there to save him. It's my job!" Jack growls, trying to justify why he's making this so dramatic compared to the other four standing in his office.

"Thats something I never thought I'd hear... Handsome Jack worrying about someone other than himself." The familiar voice of a hated bandit announces, making him feel sick to his stomach and then sudden urge to wrap his finger around her neck, shaking her until she's gagging for air enters his head.

"Don't you know how to fucking knock?!" He seethes, turning to the door as Lilith, Moxxi and Timothy walk in.

"Be nice Handsome. She took a lot of convincing to get her here and I don't want you fucking up hours of work." Moxxi warns, her hands falling to rest on her hips.  
"Well I never asked for her to be here!" Jack growls, turning back to his desk.

"I can always just leave. He can't care about him that much then-" Lilith begins, spinning on her heels and walking back toward the door, before Moxxi grabs her arm.

"Please stay. He really does need our help. Everything that I said about him earlier is true, he still just holds a bit of a grudge toward you for shooting him in the head." She explains.

"Wait, you're the one that killed Jack?" Sasha asks, her jaw dropping slightly.

"No wonder he's pissed at you." Yvette comments.

"The next person that talks about my death can go out of a fucking airlock!" He warns, his hands gripping the edge of the desk in an attempt to calm down.

"Vaughn you alright buddy?" Fiona asks, waving a hand in front of the guys rather expressionless face as he stares at Timothy.

"I-I just can't get over that there are two Jack. It's... Weird." He mutters.

"He's not Jack. His names Timothy." Moxxi corrects, placing a hand on the dopplegangers shoulder.

"Yeah. He's the only people actually like." Lilith chuckles as her own joke, completely ignoring the evil look Jack shoots her way. Suddenly, Jack computers screen kicks into life a noise emitting from the speakers with a notification. Quickly pulling his office chair behind him, he sits in front of the keyboard, unlocking his user and clicking on the video file. Live feed.

"Handsome Jack, great to see you. It puts faith in me that you really like this pathetic excuse of a man. So, I'm pretty sure you've noticed by now that your little boyfriend's missing." The man from the night before announces, holding the camera at arms length to point at his face, before swiftly turning it around. The image now displayed on his screen makes his heart sink. Rhys looked pretty beat up, black left eye, bleeding nose, hair springing out of place and a couple of cuts to his right cheek bone, accompanied by his hands being tied behind his back and grey duct tape across his mouth. He looks up at the camera with fear and what Jack swears is embarrassment. Jack eyebrows furrow with worry as he brings his hand up and traces his thumb over the screen where Rhys' face is displayed.

"Now, I won't make this long and complicated. We will hand him back to you alive and without another scratch for twelve million dollars. If you don't give us that money within the next eight hours, we can certainly earn it by selling is cybernetic implants on the black market. The surgery might've been difficult to put them in, but trust me when I say that they will be simple to get out. I mean, he'll probably die because none of my group have any medical training so... It's your call; get us the money and get your boy back in one piece, or try finding his torn out cybernetics on the shelves on Pandora." The captor chuckles, before the feed ends and the line goes dead. Jack remains staring at the black screen for a while, the beaten up image of Rhys sitting uncomfortably in the back of his vision. Balling his fists until his knuckles fade to white, he screws his eyes shut, trying to dispel the image along with some tears that were forming in the corner of his eyes. He can't help but feel guilty for this. He didn't have to watch him like he was a child that would get into trouble if you removed your gaze for a mere second, but he knew that there was something he could've done to prevent this.

"Oh stop it you big overdramatic softy! We'll get your boyfriend back without a problem!" Lilith exclaims, falling her arms over her chest.

"Y-Youre gonna help?" Vaughn stammers, amazed at how quickly her attitude and demeanour have changed.

"Yeah, why not. This might be the only person that Jack will like more than himself. Gotta savour it." She replies, shrugging her shoulder, making eye contact with the CEO and shooting a smirk his way. He nods in appreciation. Jack tugs on the hem of his jacket as they pull up to the bandit hide out.

"You ready honey?" Moxxi asks, ruffling her hand through Timothy's hair.

"Well, I haven't done anything like this since I left Jack's employment." He replies, his voice sounding uneasy and his face showing how nervous he is.

"And you were good at your job. Don't worry about it Tim, you're a great shot." Jack smiles, a littler weaker than he would've liked, complimenting the other man into assurance.

"Well then, let's go get your boyfriend back." Lilith laughs, rather excited at the anticipation of using her siren powers once again.

* * *

Rhys pulls his head up, it feeling heavy and a lot more effort than it should be, at the sound of gunfire outside. One eye remains tightly shut, too puffy and bruised to open at his command. The skin was sore from the strong punch earlier. The cut on his cheek stung and his lips felt chapped from the lack of water. His muscles were in a heavy state of ache from the serious beating he'd received. It was difficult to find an item of clothing that hasn't been ripped, and the spots of blood, accompanied by bruising, was sure to send Jack into a frenzy. Rolling his head back, swallowing hard trying to wet his dry throat, he smirks slightly at the thought.  
"Summit funny kid?" A masked bandit from his side questions, automatic gripped in his hands. When the fighting outside had started, everyone seemed pretty frantic and panicky, but this one had been instructed to stand guard. Idiots. They think that they'd be able to kill Jack that easily? They should've just given it up. Not that he would've gone easier on them if they did, he was probably super pissed off.

"Just thinking about how you're all a bunch of idiots and that Jack is gonna rip your eyes from your sockets quicker than you can blink." Rhys chuckles, his voice raspy and croaked. He receives a quick, hard blow to the side of his head with the butt of the bandits gun, knocking him to the side. He would've fallen to the floor, landing too hard on his left shoulder, if he wasn't tied, hands behind his back, to a wooden support beam with duct tape that was cutting into his wrists uncomfortably. Maybe to the point where it was drawing blood. Or was that trickling feeling just pins and needles? He spits, causing another string of blood the add to the ever growing red dye on the floor around him. Suddenly, the door is forced open, swinging back on its hinges, hard. There’s various profanities thrown around, each one earning a punch to a part of the body, probably from Jack, and Rhys smirks down at the floor, his head hanging heavily at his shoulders. There’s a couple of bangs, a pistol forcing bullets through freshly made holes in the bandit, before a heavy clunk of the lifeless body falling to the floor. Two hands press lightly against the sides of Rhys’ face, pulling his head up carefully to look, with one eye, at the worried expression spread over Jack’s face.

“Oh thank god you’re alive.” he breathes, the words tumbling out of his mouth. Rhys probably would’ve missed them if his one good eye wasn’t trained onto Jack’s lips.

“What happened to you kiddo? How’d they nab you?” He questions, letting go of Rhys’ head for a split second, only to catch it once again when it rolls back, clearly not able to hold up on his own.  
“They- Drugged me at the nightclub.” Rhys replies in a series of groans and breathy whispers, not fully with it. Whether it was the drugs still left in his system or the heavy beating he took earlier, something was making him want to give into pain and fall unconscious there and then. But he didn’t want to make it anymore difficult for Jack. He could walk out of here on his own two feet, he was sure of it. However, that theory hadn’t been tested until now.

“C’mon we need to get you out of here. You’re looking rough on the outside so I wanna make sure you’re fine on the inside too.” Jack informs, tugging the man lightly onto his feet. Rhys is stable… for the grand time of two seconds, before his legs wobble, his knees feeling like jelly, and they go from under him. Nice to know the theory was accurate… Luckily, Jack wraps his arm around his waist, catching him in a strong hold before he can fall back onto his ass. Jack's arm hook under the back on his knees, and the other presses lightly and securely on Rhys' back, hoisting him up into his hold.

"I think I better carry ya Kitten." Jack chuckles, his voice uneven as he tries to cover up the worry in his tone, which Rhys easily picks up on, but decides to not say anything. Light cascades down onto his face, causing the younger man to squint at the sudden light. His head rolls into Jacks shoulder and he sees Moxxi and Timothy approaching them, along with another woman he didn't recognise. They walk along side Jack, back toward the light runners parked close by. They pass several loafer bots, all that Rhys expects will be individually collected later.

"God, they really beat ya, didn't they Sugar?" Moxxi sighs, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

"I can't remember the last time Jack looked so pissed off for someone other than himself." Lilith muses, following Jack's long strides, his expression working its way into his pace and the rigidness of his body.

"Jack, I'll drive, you stay with Rhys." Timothy offers, receiving a nod of approval and appreciation as he sets Rhys down in the vehicles seat.

"We'll meet you back up on Helios." Moxxi calls.

* * *

"Rhys, you OK bro?!" Vaughn exclaims, running to catch up with Jack, who still has Rhys encased tightly in his arms.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Rhys croaks, his throat still dry.

"We'll let the doctors decide that." Jack mutters, turning left through the medical bay doors, keeping his strides at an even, quick pace.

“I don’t need to be in here, I’m fine honestly Jack.” Rhys sighs, being set down on an empty bed as Jack proceeds to call a doctor over.

“You don’t look ok.” Sasha observes, entering the room with Fiona and Yvette.

“I just wanna make sure you’re not internally bleeding os some shit like that.” Jack reminds, watching a doctor scurry over.

“We’ll take him over for a scan. You need to lie back.” The doctor informs, pushing lightly on Rhys’ shoulder, a hand slipping under him to help him lean up the pillows.

“Jack, we’ve got some juicy info for you.” Lilith calls, waving a fairly bulky looking folder with Moxxi and Timothy.

“He’ll be fine, we’ll just take him to the cat scan and bring him straight back afterwards. Any problems, we’ll contact you.” The doctor assures after seeing Jack’s conflicted expression. He really wanted to find out what was so important about the folder, but he also wanted to stay by Rhys’ side. After receiving a warm grin, well as warm as it could be when half of his face was black and blue, from Rhys, Jack parts and walks toward the group gathering on the guest couch, laying out various papers from the inside on the folder.

“So, we managed to make a connection between the bandits that stole your boyfriend and the thief that hacked your system the other week.” Moxxi begins, pointing to two individual pictures, one of the black haired ‘spy’ and the other of a fairly large, recently deceased, group of bandits.

“We found these tats on all the members of the faction and on you’re super sneaky thief.” Lilith continues, pointing to a picture of red thorns wrapping around a black dagger.

“An insignia? So they were working together?” Jack questions, unsure at where they were going with this. So what if they had been working together? One tried to steal from Hyperion and the other tried to steal from Jack… all worth the death penalty. However some people might call that murder.

“Well, they’re just the pawns in the little movement thats happening on Pandora. He said that someone hired him to steal from Hyperion right? Well… we think that he wasn’t even sent to do that.” Moxxi explains, her voice suddenly dropping to a slow, concerned tone.

“Well, what else was he here for? The evidence was all on his laptop, the money was in his bank account.” Jack urges, not particularly liking how everyone seemed to be avoiding something.

“We think he used that just to grab someone’s attention… Rhys’ attention.” Timothy replies, suggesting the thing that everyone else seemed to scared to.

“Why would he wanna do that? Stealing money seems like that perfect thing for him.” Jack asks, pursing his lips slightly.

“Think about it Jack, if he really wanted to steal money from Hyperion, he probably wouldn’t need to come up to Helios for it. And even if he did, he wouldn’t let as soon as he had gotten it, rather than hand around for so long. We think…. We think that he was supposed to kidnap Rhys there and then, but he chose the wrong room to do it. You stopped him by coming down.” Timothy continues, getting the issue out into the open.

“So… you’re saying someone is after Rhys? Why?” Jack questions, unconsciously bitting his thumbnail.

“We don’t exactly know yet…” Moxxi replies, her hands grasping both of her forearms, biting her bottom lip.

“Well then… we need to find out and keep a good eye on Rhysie.” Jack replies, leaning back into the couch, running a hand through his hair.

“Why not just get some bodyguards or something?” Lilith asks.

“Because he’s a stubborn one. He doesn’t like people thinking that he can’t look after himself.” Jack chuckles, “Best if we just keep an eye on him. Maybe set up some cameras or something by his house, just in case.” he finishes, glancing over his shoulder as the doctor from before calls his name, Rhys staggering close by.

“He’s all good on the inside, just cosmetic injuries. They should heal within a couple of weeks.” He explains, joining the group and as Jack stands wrapping his arms around the younger mans waist for a rather intimate embrace. Kissing him lightly on the lips, he watches carefully of Rhys visibly winces, his lips still chapped and sore.

“Make sure he has plenty to drink and any painkillers if he requests them.” The doctor continues, “Try to stay out of trouble Mr. Rhys.” he finishes, taking a clipboard from a passing nurse and following her to the next patient.


	15. New Found Confidence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm on Tumblr! Pop by and send me requests and prompts for Rhack fics if you want, or just say hi!  
> nihongoochitsuite

"Yeah, I know what the files said!" Jack snaps, an index finger pressed on the device inserted comfortably in his ear, "But it doesn't make any fucking sense! If they wanted him then why beg for money?!" He continues, pacing around the space behind his desk, his eyes fixed permanently to the floor.

 _'_   _Calm_ _the_ _hell_ _down_ _Handsome_ _!_ _We're_ _looking_ _into_ _it_ _for_ _you_ _,_ _but_ _the_ _files_ _were_ _found_ _with_ _the_ _authorities_ _so_ _they_ _probably_ _have_ _a_ _lot_ _of_ _your_ _answers_ _.'_ Moxxi replies, her voice stereo and distant through the comm.

"I'll get you special clearance to the files, just... Find out what they're up to!" He orders, his dominant, bossy CEO instincts kicking in once again. Since Rhys' recent kidnapping and the information that had been uncovered because of it, Jack had constantly been on the defensive, ready to go to any length to protect the younger man. All without him knowing of course. He'd managed to convince Moxxi, Lilith and Timothy to keep their mouths shut and withhold the info on the thief and the bandits. At least until they'd managed to make sense of it all. He didn't want to worry Rhys anymore than he already was. He was a little shaken up after his abduction, bruises and cuts still standing prominent on his otherwise milky skin. He'd only just managed to open his still swollen eye. Jack imagined him to be a lot more traumatized and stressed than he actually was however, babying him by constantly keeping a hold of him whenever they go on walks or meetings and insisting that he kept his echocomm or phone on 24/7. It was kinda frustrating on Rhys' part. He knew Jack meant well, but he needed to understand that he was being a little excessive.

_'_ _Don't_ _fret_ _about_ _it_ _Sugar_ _,_ _we're_ _already_ _on_ _it_ _._ _Want_ _a_ _copy_ _of_ _the_ _files_ _?'_ She asks, the rustle of paper under her voice from the background.

"Nah, got 'em up here. Just try and find any more connections between-" he begins, but the sudden hiss of the hydraulics of the inner workings of the heavy duty door stops him short, watching it slide open and the current topic of conversation walking in, his phone being his main interest which is clutched in his cybernetic hand, "I-I'll call you back." Jack stammers, making short eye contact with Rhys as he glances up from his phone screen.

_'_ _Sure_ _thing_ _honey_ _.'_ Moxxi replies, understanding the situation, the comm cutting out and static meeting his ear unpleasantly. Removing his finger, he plops down onto his office chair, running a hand through his coiffed hair, exhaling a heavy sigh.

"Business call?" Rhys asks, his eyes still glued to his phone as he stands in front of the desk.

"Something like that." Jack nods, accepting Rhys' oblivious cover up with gratitude. He watches closely as Rhys' eyes dart quickly from left to right, his eyes scanning his screen vertically at a quick pace. Whilst keeping his eyes still locked with the screen, he extends his arm, making a grabbing motion, before finally grasping a hold of a pen. Taking another quick glance away, he slides a plain sheet of paper toward himself, quickly scribbling down some numbers, before finally becoming satisfied and locking the mobile device. At an upside down view of the numbers, Jack guesses its something to do with the sales reports, the layout and sums looking close to what the kid used to do before he shot up to the top.

"Rhysie, c'mere." Jack coo's, pushing his feet on the floor, rolling his chair from under his desk slightly and patting his lap. Like a dog being called to its master, Rhys follows, sitting on the designated place, his back being cradled by Jack's left arm, his legs hanging over the armrest. He looks to Jack expectantly. Jack brushes his fingertips lightly over Rhys' swollen, purple eye, the bruise blotchy with patches of yellow, it slightly calmer from the angry black and blue it was yesterday, before smoothing his fingers down to the scab stretched from his cheekbone to his nose.

"They really damaged you baby." He whispers, his eyebrows furrowing together, worry spreading over his features. Tilting his head into the touch, Rhys nuzzles the tip of his nose and lips into Jack's hand.

"I'm fine, honestly. Stop worrying." He breathes, pressing feathery kisses to the flesh.

"I'll never stop worrying about you kitten." Jack replies, his voice a soothed whisper, holding his palm to the younger male, kisses being moved to be pecked onto the flat surface, his other hand moving to brush through his amber hair, his fingers grazing against his scalp lightly.

"You seem so stressed." Rhys whispers, his eyes closing as he continues to brush his lips against Jacks hand, gradually moving back up to his fingertips, before trailing down to the back of his hand and to the prominent bone of his wrist.

"Ha, you could say that." Jack chuckles lightly, watching with half lidded eyes, his hand falling limp to give the kid easier access. As he continues to move up his arm, his flesh hand slips down, lifting his thigh slightly, and palms Jack through his jeans. He hears the slight growl in the back of Jacks throat and advances, pressing down a little harder, massaging his fingertips in, whilst his cybernetic arm slides up to his waistcoat, tugging apart the clasps. It falls loose and he smooths the palm of his hand on Jack's blouse, his fingers fiddling with the buttons, gradually popping them open. When the old, tattered Hyperion shirt is revealed, he pushes the fabrics up, slipping his hand up the bare skin, his fingertips moving with the grooves and muscle, following him closely when he instinctively sucks in a breath at the cold metal touch. Pulling back, he wraps his lips around Jack's index finger, running his tongue along the length and sucking slightly, his hand still working with the CEO's covered erection.

"Ssshit Kiddo." Jack sighs, his head rolling back into the chair, his body completely relaxing once becoming used to the cold metal working its way up to his chest.

"Good?" Rhys breathes, looking up at the man, keeping his lips close to his fingertips.

"S-So good!" He stammers, pushing on Rhys' chest, his worries about the man easily slipping away. Rhys was completely focused on releasing the stress and tension in Jack's body and, even though Jack's favourite way to do that was a back massage, he was in the mood for giving a blowjob. The massage could wait till they were back home. It probably should be the other way around but oh well. Jack had been insisting that Rhys stay with him for a couple of days, blaming it on some mishaps in the financial chain and liked the idea of returning to see his kitten, rather than an empty house. Rhys knew that the real reason was to do with his kidnapping yesterday, but he refused to bring it up, knowing that Jack would argue, throw a tantrum and probably sulk for a few hours. The type of attitude Rhys never particularly liked to put up with. It certainly wasn't attractive for the man. Following Jack's pushing, he drops down to his knees, the 'clunk' sound making it obvious that he was going to suffer with purple bruises for it later. Pressing his face close to the denim, his hands smooth up the back of the man's calves, running up to the inside of his thighs, slowly, and travelling back down, whilst Jack fumbles with the button and zipper. Quickly pulling his trousers from his hips, Rhys takes over, replacing his hands with his own and pulling them down to the man's ankles, the large tent in his boxers pressed lightly against his cheek. Looking up at him with lidded eyes, he extends his tongue to run the tip up the cloth, pressing against the underside of the length. He can see the fabric darken where his thin trail of saliva connects with the spreading stain of pre near the top.

"Ooh, already? Do I turn you on that much?" Rhys teases, his lips painfully close to the most tender, sensitive part of his cock.

"Y-yeah, shut up Pumpkin and get on with it will ya?" Jack urges, tugging on the hem of his boxers, eager to have Rhys' lips wrapped tightly around the long overdue erection.

"Ah!" Rhys interrupts, his hands pressing against Jack, stopping him from tearing his boxers off, "admit that one, _precious_ _,_ thing and I'll do what ever you want me to." Rhys smirks, liking the power he had over the man all of a sudden.

"W-What? No, that's not fair. There's no way I'm admitting anything!" Jack whines, trying to tug free of Rhys' grasp.

"Well then," Rhys begins, standing and turning his back on the man, "you better pull your trousers back up or get real friendly with your right hand again because I won't suck you off without that small favour." He continues, grabbing his phone from the side and making it look as if he was heading for the door. Obviously he wasn't going to leave. Some people might say it was because the lithe man was too nice to leave a man hanging in such a flustered, needy state, to the point where said man would only need to be touched and his aching erection would throw him into the best orgasm of his life... But really its because Rhys knew that Jack couldn't hold out any longer. He'd say what he wanted him to say any second now because he knew he couldn't resist Rhys' 'pretty little lips', as he put it, on his skin.

"No!... Fine." Jack grumbles, muttering some extra words which are barely audible, but Rhys knew exactly what he said.

"What's that... _Pumpkin_?" He purrs. That didn't sound right... He'd never say that again. But, Jack seemed to like it, the pleasurable whine escaping his lips. Approaching the man, he drops to his knees again, pressing a finger to his tip, eliciting yet another moan from him.

"You'll have to speak up." Rhys growls, using his dominant voice that Jack had taught him. He'd commented somewhere along the way that, although he loved how soft and adorable Rhys' voice was, for the current status his position held, he needed some more bass in his voice, making sure that people knew not to fuck with him. He probably didn't expect him to use it for these type of situations as well.

"Oh _god_ , that's so _sexy_." Jack breathes, his head rolling back at the sound of Rhys' new found confidence.

"Wrong words honey." Rhys smirks, his hands coming to rest on the cushioned office chair seat.

"I-I'm desperate!" Jack exclaims, the words music to Rhys' ears.

"There ya go." Rhys chuckles, tugging the boxers down to join the crumpled jeans at his ankles. He doesn't have time to do anything else, before hands grip him at the side of his head, pulling his head down onto the tip of Jack's cock. Bucking his hips into the wet contents of Rhys' mouth, he sets a pace for himself, continually moving his hips up as he keeps Rhys' head in place. Gagging slightly, he feels the constant prod of the tip hitting the back of his throat. In all fairness he did set the offer of him doing whatever Jack liked him to. He's quickly having to force himself away from the man, however, gasping for air, wet coughs, probably the most unattractive thing to hear _ever_. Maybe not though, as it probably assured Jack of his dominance in this situation, knowing that he was controlling Rhys' airflow and causing him to splutter and cough, the string if saliva lined from his tip to Rhys' bottom lip breaking as Rhys breathes deep, the skin around his mouth already having a shine to it from the spit spread over it. Finally ready again, Rhys reaches forward, his hands curling around the base of the other man's dick, his tongue running up and circling the angry head, his fingers working with the skin underneath.

"Ohmygod." Jack growls, his fingers tangling in his amber hair.

"R-Rhys!" He stammers. Taking the hint, he takes as much of his in as he is able, wanting to avoid making his throat sorer than it already was. Not that it mattered, because, just before the ropes of cum jet down his throat, Jack forces him on more, his hand pressing hard down onto his head as he jerks into him, his orgasm hitting him hard. Satisfied that Rhys had swallowed all of it, and letting his cock linger in his mouth for a couple of seconds, he pulls out, his limbs heavy and his breathing uneven. Wiping his lips, Rhys stands,  bringing the pace of his breathing down, but his heart rate still banging against his chest. He's not standing for long, however, before hands push on his shoulders, his back slamming hard into the varnished desk.

"And you were calling _me_ desperate." Jack smirks, his trousers now pulled up and comfortably zipped and buttoned. His hands rest on Rhys' hips after tugging the tight black trousers off, his shirt having been untucked and half way up his torso.

"Look, at, _you_." Jack teases, admiring the tent in his Hyperion yellow boxers.

"Sucking Handsome Jack's dick turns you on, huh? You kinky son ov'a bitch." He growls, his fingers needing roughly into his length. Rhys moans, small whimpers mixing with the noises, as his hands extend above his head and grip the edge of the desk for some form of... Grounding? Who knows. It's not long before his boxers are with Jack's, discarded on the floor. Jack was going commando? Shit! He feels his cock harden more, if that was even possible, at the thought.

" _Oh_ , look at this _beauty_." Jack breathes, his thumb running up to the tip, squeezing slightly.

"Stop teasing!" Rhys whimpers. Jack did this a lot. Complimenting the appearance of his genitals, which he never really understood. He'd seen it a fair few times now. It wasn't exactly a turn off for Rhys, he just found it slightly awkward. When he first started doing that, he thought he should be complimenting Jack's as well, but he could never think of what to say, or have the courage to say it. He always thought sexual activities are one of the few interactions where there shouldn't be many words, just moans and cries of pure pleasure and ecstasy. He still wasn't too sure if he should be talking about Jack's cock during sex or not. He's fairly certain if he should be, Jack would've brought it up by now though.

"You seriously can't be telling me to stop teasing after the stunt you just pulled." Jack growls, pressing his palm against Rhys, making his length press against the course hairs which trailed up to the base of his stomach. Lips press up the inside of Rhys' thighs, teeth grazing and nipping at the flesh and a tongue slipping over any blood that might escape from the possible breaks in his skin, whilst a hand continues to work and knead his sensitive erection. His poor legs were going to be covered in bruises tomorrow... Suddenly, hands are replaced by lips, Rhys' eyes latching onto the view of Jack's head bobbing up and down, his tongue circling around the flesh, hands smoothing under his shirt and over the flesh of his chest and stomach. It doesn't take him long before he has to shout his words of warning.

"Jack, god! I'm gunna-!" He begins, but it quickly silence by two fingers slipping into his mouth. He ties not to, but as his strong orgasm take over, cum releasing into Jack's awaiting mouth, his teeth press down onto the man's fingers, his jaw hitting automatic and clamping down, only letting him release when his body finally relaxes.

"Looks like it was a good one, eh Rhysie?" Jack muses, looking at the still white marks on his skin where his teeth had just been, indents in the shape of the younger man's teeth left behind. The man continues to lie, panting heavily on the desk, his muscles so worn out and tired that moving right now sounded like suicide.

 

* * *

After finally getting himself together from earlier, and Jack being called away to some important meeting, Rhys has decided to have some alone time, walking along the quiet corridors of his old department. Some of the people he used to work with not or wave in his general and he returns it with a similar kind gesture. He was about to get into the elevator to travel down to the accounting floor, wanting to pay his buddy Vaughn a visit, when someone jogs from down the corridor, calling his name. Making it into the elevator before the doors close, he tries to recover his breath, apologizing for his sudden intrusion. Not that Rhys minded. People were a lot more leanient around Rhys than they were around Jack. Jack had the many years of reputation built around him, near enough _forcing_ people to respect him. Rhys knew what it was like for the workers now, especially the lowly ones, so he was always one to cut them some slack and be more appreciative to their efforts, even if some of them were incredibly stupid fuck ups. Jack had tried to get that out of his system, explaining that if he played that card too many times, people would take advantage of it, slacking on their work and Hyperion paying out money to employees who were basically getting cash without work. He'd made himself a little stricter, making a man tremble before him after a really idiotic mistake, but he hasn't yet killed anyone for it. And he didn't really plan too. That was more Jack thing. Well, _was_ more Jack thing...

"Hey, weren't you from R&D? Didn't you work on that prototype I sent down?" Rhys questions, clicking his fingers in an attempt to get his name and make sure that he knew he remembered him.

"Yeah, that's right. But shifted up to the IT part of it now though. Which is actually why I'm here." He replies, smiling warmly at the fact that someone at such a high rank could remember his face.

"Congrats on the promotion buddy." Rhys grins, happy that at least another person, other than him, was moving up the corporate ladder.

"Thanks sir. So yeah, I was going through the records and- I didn't mean to pry- it just kinda popped up and I thought it important." He stammers, suddenly stumbling over his words in fear that what he'd been up to was illegal. Rhys gently urges him on, interested in what he has to say.

"Someone's been snooping in your files. At first I thought I would be Jack or the police because of... Yesterday, but its from an unauthorized computer. The police have their own systems so they're automatically registered and if it was Jack he'd be listed on the Hyperion database." He explains, his thumbs circling around one another, twiddling awkwardly.

"Did you get a signal trace?" Rhys asks, knowing that all basic computers that had managed to gain access to Helios' systems would have a data trace, giving the round about location and time. User would be a massive stretch, but not impossible.

"Pandora." He replies, nodding hesitantly, all out of helpful information.

"Ok," Rhys breathes, trying to keep his voice even, which is fairly difficult when someone is hacking into your personal files, basically spying on you and who knows what else, "You need to tell Jack about this." He continues, his voice soft. He wanted to bring the CEO's name up cautiously due to his... scary nature.

"W-What? Why?" the man panic's.

"Because this is important information that if I tell him, he won't happy that he wasn't 'in the loop.'" Rhys explains. the elevator slowing to stop and the door sliding open. Exiting the elevator, the pair walk down the fairly empty corridor.

"You'll come with me right? I mean, don't get me wrong, I can stand up for myself and I respect Handsome Jack, but... His history shows that I have a high possibly of getting vented out of an airlock or shot between the eyes because I've given him some information that is concerning you." he replies, his thumb instinctively pulling up to his lips to gnaw at the hard skin there.

"U-Unfortunately, you're gonna have to do that on your own. See, I'm not supposed to know anything about my kidnapping and the fact that Jack's looking into it, so if Jack knows that you've told me before him, he won't be best please. Just go up later to tell him and I'll make sure that I get to the office for after you've told him. Therefore, he won't know that you've told me and he won't kill you." Rhys offers, smiling warmly to the man in a form of reassurance.

"Y-Yeah, o-okay. Shall I come up at about seven then? After work?" He asks.

"Yep. Don't worry about it, it'll be fine." Rhys assures, splitting from the man and entering an open office, filled with close cubicles. It was fairly silent already, the only noise being the furious typing of accountants fingers on their keyboards, which some falter or stop all together, where he makes his entrance. There's another difference between him and Jack. Where Rhys tries to enter a room as silently and _un_ noticed as possible, Jack would rather make his presence known, normally by shouting at an employee or actually shouting something like 'Handsome has arrived!' or 'Someone need a hero?!'... It would cause various shades of red to flush to Rhys' cheeks if he was with him during these moments, especially when he wanted to tease his partner by adding 'Rhys has already got _his_ hero.' which is usually accompanied by a hand wrapping around his waist or lips latching onto his neck.

"Hey buddy." Rhys grins, leaning up against Vaughn's cubicle wall, the man hunched over the most recent sum that was stumping the financials.

"Hey bro." Vaughn mutters, quickly scribbling down the answer to the four lined equation.

"I got you something..." Rhys sings, holding out a bottle of Vaughn's favourite creamed coffee. It was only recently his favourite. When Rhys was promoted straight up to the top, and had a vast increase of his income, he treated Vaughn and Yvette to a _very_ expense lunch, which caused the accountant to discover the wonderful world of various coffees and his new favourite. However, it was a super expensive beverage, which was way  more than his pay check... So, being his best friend an all, Rhys liked to treat him to it every so often.

"Ohmygod you're the _best_ bro! I could really do with this shit right about now!" Vaughn grins, a hand wiping across his forehead in mock exhaustion.

"Long day?" Rhys asks, crossing his arms over his chest after handing the bottle to the other man.

"You have _nooo_ idea..." Vaughn replies, rolling his eyes slightly and quickly breaking the seal of his drink, taking a few gulps.

"Oh, I think I do." Rhys mutters, smirking to himself slightly at the remembrance of this morning.

"I don't wanna know about you have a morning suck on your boyfriend this, thanks Rhys." Vaughn chuckles, obviously meaning it at a joke. But Rhys can't prevent the wide eyes and slightly parted lips. How did he manage to get everything right like that? Hit the nail on the head.

"Oh god! Rhys! TMI bro!" Vaughn whines, his fingers rubbing at his temples, trying to get the lewd image out of his head that had subtly slipped in (haha, innuendo).

"Hey, I didn't give any _info_. You guessed it on your own bro." Rhys points out, his hands raising up against his chest, palms pointing out.

"What'cha doin' here anyway? Lunch was an hour ago and work doesn't finish for at least another four hours. Come to break me out of this hellhole?" Vaughn jokes, wiggling the computer mouse just before the monitor can go to sleep mode.

"Unfortunately no bro. I have the power to do that yeah, but do you really wanna leave this work till tomorrow?" Rhys replies, gesturing to the sum that he was currently half way through.

"Fair enough." Vaughn replies, nodding in defeat, glancing down at the sum which was probably going to haunt his dreams tonight, "So why are you done here? Tormenting me with coffee and the hopeful gleam of a break?" He continues, his hand fiddling with the  already half empty bottle of cream coffee.

"My CEO duties have stopped for a bit. I thought if anything did pop up, they could call me on my echo. Didn't really wanna hang around in the office on my own." he replies, shrugging his shoulders lightly.

"So what you gonna do in the mean time?" Vaughn asks.

"Pffft- dunno. I gotta go and help someone out at about sevenish, but, unless someone calls me up for a job, there's nothing to do for five hours." Rhys answers.

"Yvette did say something about the technicians giving her trouble. You could go and help her out." Vaughn informs, typing a quick sum into his calculator.

"What type of trouble?" he asks, a serious tone to his voice.

"She said her computer was on the blink and asked then to come and fix it a few weeks ago, but they keep pushing her back, saying her problem is only minor." Vaughn explains, shrugging his shoulders.

"'Kay, I'll go down now. Thanks bro, catch you later." Rhys nods, pushing off from the cubicle wall, waving a hand over his shoulder as a last minuet farewell.

* * *

"FUCK SAKE!" Yvette basically screams, shaking the monitor of her computer, people passing by her desk giving her an awkward sideways glance.

"You ok?" Rhys questions, concerned.

"Does it _look_ like I'm ok Rhys?!" she growls, her hands slamming down onto the desk and her eyes squinting into a fairly vicious looking glare.

"What's going on?" Rhys asks, leaning on the front side of the desk.

"Those stupid technicians! I asked them to come and fix my buggy computer! They kept postponing it, telling my _complaint_ wasn't _important_ enough. Now the whole things stopped working!" She growls, he fist pounding once against the wood.

"Want me to get someone up here? They can't say no to the second in command. The one that can fire them with a snap of his fingers." Rhys asks, giving his eyebrows a little wiggle, proud of the type of power he held over employees.

"That would be a great help. No computer mean no work and no work means no cash." Yvette replies, sighing as she crosses her arms over her chest. Rhys nods to her, pressing his index finger to the device in his right ear.

_'Mr. Rhys, sir! Is there something we can help you with?'_ A concerned voice exclaims from the other end.

"I need you to come up to the 21st floor. Someone asked you to come up and sort her computer out, but no one did and no it's completely wrecked." Rhys explains, looking over to Yvette and smiling warmly whilst waiting for a reply.

_'Oh yeah, we were gonna do that , but-'_ the voice begins, but is quickly shot down by Rhys.

"No, look, I don't want excuses, just send someone up to sort it out." Rhys orders, his patience wearing thin now that they were trying to postpone it with _him_ as well.

_'Yes sir, of course sir!'_ he babbles, words tumbling from his mouth.

"I'll wait here for when they come up. Don't want them fucking around even more." Rhys tells Yvette after finishing his conversation with the head of the technicians department.

"Thanks Rhys." She sighs, dropping down onto her office chair and rubbing at her temples with her  fingertips.

"No problem. Sorry that this has turned a lot more stressful than it needed to be." He apologises. If he knew that they were causing her so much trouble in the first place, he would've sorted it out ages ago.

"Don't worry about it. As long as it gets sorted, that's all that matters." She replies, pushing the mouse away from her, in fear that she was going to smash it to pieces. It doesn't take long before a technician is jogging down the corridor toward them.

"Mr. Rhys, sorry about the wait." He apologises.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to. I haven't been waiting for you for god knows how many weeks." Rhys replies, thumbing toward Yvette. "I'll come up and check later. If it's not fixed then, then there's going to be a serious problem." he finishes, sauntering away from the pair, entering the elevator and hitting the button back up to his and Jack's shared office.

* * *

"What's all the shouting about?" Rhys questions, calmly walking into the office and trying to simmer the conversation down. It had hit seven so Rhys was hanging around the office doors so that the worker from R&D that approached him earlier could get his explanation out to Jack that he told him about him earlier.

"Nothing, sorry kitten. Thanks for the info cupcake." Jack replies, waving his hand to the employee, giving him the subtle sign for him to leave. Nodding slightly toward the man as he passes, he mouths a thank you to Rhys and he motions toward his echo, telling him that he'd message him later about Jack's reaction. The man nods again before exiting and walking down the corridor, the heavy duty doors sliding shut.

"What was that about?" Rhys chuckles, moving to sit on the edge of the desk, his arm resting on Jack's legs as the lie crossed on the wood, his head resting against his hand.

"Nothing, don't worry about it baby. Just... a new dev in R&D." Jack replies, lying through his teeth. Rhys can't help but chuckle slightly, knowing about Jack's attempt to hide the new information.

"What's funny kiddo?" Jack asks, cocking an eyebrow toward the younger man.

"You- doesn't matter." Rhys giggles, shaking his head lightly.

"I'll give you something to laugh at." Jack growls, wanting to move on from the sensitive conversation that he had to tiptoe around, by lunging forward and digging his fingertips into the sides of Hacks stomach, causing him to squeal and erupt into a fit of laughter. He tries to move away, but Jack holds him to the table by his hip, running his hands up all the parts that Jack knew were sensitive.

"N-no! Jack, Stop!" Rhys cries out, gasping large gulps of air to try and make up for the lack of oxygen due to his heavy laughter. When Jack finally stops, he's left with his arms resting close to Rhys' head, his knees pressed against the outsides of his thighs, straddling over the man on all fours. They simply look at each other for a while, their eyes scanning over one another's face, looking over their features and expressions. Jack can't wait any longer thought, and brings their faces together, their lips sliding against each others, tangling into a kiss.

"God I love you." Jack breathes, his voice suddenly straying from the playful tone it was earlier and into a more serious one.

"Haha, I know that, I love you too." Rhys chuckles, grinning up at him, confusion quickly mixing into his features, "What's wrong Jack? You've been so stressed and worried from yesterday. Talk to me." Rhys tries, his hands smoothing over his chest, up to crook of his neck and tangling with the hairs at the base of his head.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Yesterday just worried me, so I wanna make sure that I can do everything to prevent it happening again. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." Jack replies, being perfectly honest to him. Even if he was leaving out a couple of details...

"So cheesy." Rhys mutters, teasing the man above him, "But I'm always here if you wanna get anything of your chest... y'know?" Rhys continues, dropping back into seriousness again.

"I know." Jack smiles warmly, sliding off the desk and pull Rhys close by his hips, hugging their bodies together in a close embrace, "C'mon, lets go back to mine." Jack purrs, leading Rhys toward the elevator, whilst the amber haired man rests his head on the edge of his shoulder lightly.


	16. Telling the Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to post, I've been trying to adjust to being back at college again and doing client work at the same time XD Hope this updated is ok for you ^^

Rolling over to his side, a pained groan escapes Rhys' lips, forgetting about the large bruise on his ribcage and putting all his weight onto it. Quickly rolling back on his back, he winces and exhales heavily.

"You ok Kitten?" Jack asks, watching his partner closely from his side of the king sized bed, eyes tired and dark circles haunting.

"Yeah, just be glad when the bruises have gone." Rhys replies, tilting his head to the left to look at Jack.

"You didn't look very comfortable last night." Jack points out, attempting to stifle a yawn and failing.

"I'm sorry, I kept you awake all night didn't I? I should've gone home-" Rhys apologies, feeling bad that the bags under Jack's eyes were probably his fault.

"No you didn't numb nuts. Documents kept me awake all night." Jack chuckles, the thoughts about the group that had kidnapped Rhys still running fresh in his mind.

"What documents?"

"Uhm. Sorry Kitten, confidential stuff. I'll tell you when I can." Jack replies, his turn to apologise and playing a little on the truth.

"Hm." Rhys grumbles, carefully climbing out of the bed and stretching, arching his back, attempting to crack some of the bones that had gotten stiff. Jacks eyes scan over his lithe form, picking up on the deep bruises spread over his legs and arms and the bandages still wrapped around his chest. It kinda upset him seeing him like this. So fragile. He never made it look as if it got his mood down, he was still as upbeat as ever, but occasionally, Jack would catch him checking out some of the marks in reflections off mirrors, spoons windows... Anything that could show the still tender flesh on his face and the slightly elevated line of his shirt where the bandages were. He would even go as far to say that seeing himself with the occasional splash of deep purple saddened him slightly.

"Coffee? Lot of reports to check over today." Rhys reminds, rolling his head and his cybernetic arm reaching up to rub at the crook of his neck.

"Stay here for the day Kitten, you could use some proper sleep." Jack insists, clambering over to Rhys' side of the bed, tugging lightly on his hips until he sits in his lap, back and head cradled carefully by Jack's arm.

"What about you. Not to be mean, but you're not looking your best." Rhys points out, hands reaching up to cup Jack's face, thumbs running smoothly over the dark circles framing under his eyes.

"Eh, mines just tiredness. You're whole body looks as if its aching." Jack replies, the tips of his fingers rubbing small circles at the nape of his neck.

"I can't lie down any longer, my back hurts too much. Just easier if I go up to Helios." Rhys explains, shifting slightly in Jack's lap, his body hurting too much to be comfortable for any longer than a minuet.

"Well, take a nap on the couch. If anything super important comes up, I'll make sure to wake you." Jack offers, his thumb tracing the other man's jawline.

Jack changed into his usual, four layer attire, whereas Rhys didn't get _too_ dressed up, finding a light blouse and some looser than usual trousers, so his bruises weren't aching as much. After checking that there weren't too many reports for Jack to labour over, Rhys allows Jack to steer him toward the couch, propping a couple of pillows under his head to try and elevate him of the tender bruises and giving him a fighting chance of getting at least some sleep.

"At least try!" Jack orders softly as Rhys tries to assure Jack that's he's fine, "even if its just five more minuets extra sleep, it'll be more than what you're trying to survive on right now." He continues, finding it fairly easier to lightly lie the man down into a comfortable position. Rhys wasn't going to deny he was tired anymore. It was more energy to deny it than it was to not. However, he wouldn't allow himself to get sleep, if Jack was still awake working, so wrapping his arms lightly around his broad shoulders, he pulls him down to lie next to him. It was a bit of a squeeze, but Rhys didn't mind. Jack was always careful when it came to touching the still fragile parts of him, even if he was forced to press against him like now.

"No, Rhys, I need to do those reports. They'll pile up if I don't." Jack fights, trying, rather half heartily, to get out of Rhys' grasp. He was so tired that now that he was lying down, he didn't know if he could get back up again.

"I'll do them with you later. No good checking over reports when even your eyes are tired." Rhys points out, fingertips dragging down the back of Jacks neck, soothing him into the same depths of slumber that he was falling into. Holding onto his form lightly, his arm just above his hip, so to avoid the bruise on his ribs on the one on his hip, Jack falls into sleep with his partner, both surprisingly comfortable on the leather couch, which their feet had to be propped up on the arm rest and if Jack was to roll over even slightly, he'd probably fall off.

* * *

Rhys was woken by the muttering and whispering he could hear from the elevator. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite put the hushed voices to faces. He could still feel the hands ghosting over his hip and another above his head where it was tangled in his hair before he fell asleep, so it definitely wasn't Jack.

"I think its utterly adorable!" One voice squeals a little louder than the others.

"I dunno, its still weird to see Jack care about something that isn't himself." Another voice drones.

Now Rhys knew who they were.

"When I was in his... Employment, he actually treated me with a fair bit of respect and care. Maybe not too much, but a lot more than some people that would walk into his office." The unmistakeable voice of Timothy reminds.

"Well yeah, but you kinda are him. I mean you look like him and he probably wanted you to act like him. Plus you probably cost a fair bit of cash so I'm pretty sure he was gonna treat you nice enough that you wouldn't leave or have to shoot you." Lilith explains, making a pretty good point. Rhys cuddles closer go Jacks chest, not wanting to get up, but feeling rude to be neglecting anyone that was waiting for either his or Jack's time.

"Well I think that you should cut Jack some slack! He's finally found someone that makes him happy again! Look at how close Rhys is to him, they're really comfortable with each other." Moxxi comments, a slight coo in her tone.

"Yeah, and look at all the bruises he has on him." Lilith comments. Rhys would've flared up if Timothy didn't do the explanation for him.

"You know that that has nothing to do with Jack." Tim almost scolds, suddenly getting defensive of the older man on the couch. Unfortunately, Rhys has become uncomfortable now, his back and chest beginning to ache once again and he's forced to sit up. However, he plays on it, sitting up with squinted eyes and yawning with a slight exaggeration. Dragging his eyes around the room slightly, he smacks his lips and fakes surprise at seeing the group standing by the elevator.

"Afternoon sugar, you sleep well." Moxxi grins, referring to Jack's hand still resting on Rhys, now having slipped onto his lap. Tiredly, Rhys nods once, keeping the buxom woman satisfied.

"Can I help you?" He asks, yawning again, for real this time.

"Yeah, we wanna speak to Jack, think you could wake him up honey?" She asks, hand hands clasping together at her front. Rhys really didn't want to. The older man lying comfortably next to him was probably enjoying a long awaited sleep, after being up since the kidnapping out of worry and wanting to protect Rhys even further. But he complies, running a smooth hand through Jack's coiffed hair calling his name softly.

"Mhm, what's up Kitten?" Jack breathes, his voice slightly cracked from just waking up, his eyes remaining closed. He wraps an arm around the younger male lightly, pulling him down slightly, closer to him, wanting to cuddle into his warmth.

"Moxxi, Lilith and Timothy are here to see you." He replies, resting his head on Jacks shoulder.

"Just tell the girl at the desk to say we're not here." Jack waves off, pressing his weight in the couch cushions, clearly very comfortable on the small space they were sharing. His fingers rise up to stroke along Rhys’ jawline, reaching his chin and a thumb playing with his bottom lip softly.

"Jack, we're already here." Lilith calls over. Impatience growing in her tone. Rhys picks up on the slight groan that rumbles in the back of his throat as he pulls himself up, swinging his legs of the couch to rest on the floor, hands rubbing against his face in an attempt to wake up. Holding a single index finger up to the group, he walks over to the desk, pressing a button for the intercom.

"Yes sir?" A female voice chirps, her voice with a slightly tinge of static with the everly growing poor connection that Jack kept saying he was going to get the technicians to look into.

"Call Vaughn and Yvette for Rhys please. I'll send you the floors and offices they're in now." Jack requests, typing away on his ECHOcom device.

"Why? Y'know I could've just called them myself." Rhys questions rhetorically. Jack groans a elongated 'ehh' noise whilst shrugging his shoulders.

"You can take a lunch break Kitten." He explains, glancing over to the clock to assure himself that its the time he thinks it is.

"What? Why can't I have lunch in here with you?" Rhys asks, feeling babied as he already knows what the answer will be.

"Because me and the little party have some private matters to discuss." Jack replies, waving a hand in their general direction, "don't worry about it babe. I'll tell you about it when you get back." He finishes, pulling the younger man close and pressing a kiss to the top of his head, the amber hair tickling against his cheeks and the tip of his nose.

"Ok." Rhys nods, not believing the obvious lie, but enjoying the thought that Jack was going to have to think up a believable explanation for all of this. Pulling him forward by his collar, the pair lean into a kiss, their lips sliding briskly against one another's before Rhys pulls away and heads toward the heavy duty doors, making his way outside to wait in reception for Vaughn and Yvette.

"Wanna tell me why we got called out twenty minuets early for lunch?" Yvette calls as the casually dressed man makes his way toward them.

"Because the group has shown up to talk about stuff that Jack is going to tell me later." Rhys replies, "think its going to be funny to watch him make up an excuse this time." He chuckles, walking with the pair toward the elevator.

"Dishonesty is bad in a relationship Rhys." Yvette drolls a reminder.

"He's not exactly being dishonest, just... Protective. Plus, I know what the secret is so I'm assured its not anything bad." Rhys adds, matter of factually. True that Rhys wasn't exactly happy that Jack was attempting to keep all this from him, but he can’t pull himself to be annoyed or offended that this information was being withheld as he knew that Jack was doing it to protect him and to stop him from worrying. But he kinda just wished that Jack would stop worrying so much as it made him nervous. Nervous for Jack’s well being and nervous for any extra info that he might not yet know about, which could be a lot worse than anything so far.

“Well you’re gonna have to talk to him about it at some point is all I'm saying Rhys.” Yvette adds, more of a cautionary warning than a statement.

“You don’t think I've tried to talk to him about it? He either changes the subject or tells me that everything's fine and he’ll tell me later.” Rhys replies, remembering the countless conversations that have travelled that route.

“Well you need to talk to him in a way that he won’t be able to ignore or distract… make him listen to you and make him tell you what's going on. If it did’t concern you, fair enough, but being as it is information related to you and your well being and him being stressed out because of it is clearly bothering you, then you need to get him to tell you what’s going on.” Yvette continues making a very good point that Rhys hasn't yet vocalised himself.

“Yeah bro, it’s only fair. From what I've heard you've been nothing but patient with him. And now the other three are involved with it… I dunno. It’ll just be easier to hear what's going on from him rather than some low life executive that gets his hands on any leaked information.” Vaughn agrees, leaning up against the wall, comfortably, waiting for the elevator to arrive from the twenty fourth floor.

“We’d back you up all the way.” Yvette assures. Rhys didn't really need backing up. He appreciated the offer, and knew the pair would always be there for him when he needed them, but this was his and Jack’s relationship they were talking about. They would be able to have this conversation without having an argument. Eventually, the elevator shows up and takes them down to the food court.

* * *

 

"You need to tell Rhys about this at some point you know Jack." Lilith points out, a statement, not a question.

"He's better off not knowing. I mean, if you had people chasing after you would you rather worry about it? Or live calmly, oblivious to the situation?" Jack replied, folding his arms tightly across his chest.

"I did have people chasing me." She reminds to the time not too long ago when Hyperion was following her every step, waiting for a slip up.

"Besides Jack, if something bad was too happen, he might be able to get out of it if he knew what was happening. I know that if something were to happen to me, I'd want to know why." Timothy adds, truthfully. They were right. But Jack wasn't one for admitting he was wrong and giving up so easily. However, the fact that it was to do with Rhys, his Rhysie... He felt as if he should be a little more lenient. He only ever wanted what was best for the man.

"Ok." Jack mutters, burying his face in his hands, trying to think of a way that he could tell Rhys everything without sounding as if he'd been lying for that past few days. He was dreading it.

"No putting it off either. Tell him when he comes back from lunch. We'll check in with you later to make sure that everything went smoothly." Moxxi orders, beginning to make her exit with the other two. Lunch was almost over anyway. He'd spent all of it discussing matters with the group of three that he'd had no time to eat and now his stomach was protesting greatly against him. Slipping his phone from his pocket, he types out a message to Rhys, the keyboard struggling to keep up with his pace.

'Hey Kitten, could ya get me a sub? Had no time to get chow and I'm starved xx'

Just as him thumb presses against the send button, the heavy duty doors to the office hiss and slide open and Jack can't help but groan out a profanity when he sees its Rhys who is sauntering back in.  
"Wow, ok, rude." Rhys gapes, standing stock still, his phone suddenly vibrating in his back pocket.

"No, sorry babe. I just sent you a message asking if you could grab me some lunch. Doesn't matter, I'll go down in a bit." Jack quickly corrects, collecting some stray paper on the desk and slipping them into a folder.

"Ah, chicken mayo, you looked like you were having a hard day so I asked them to save you one." Rhys grins, jogging light footed up the stairs and plonking his perk ass onto the corner of the desk, pushing two wrapped up triangle sandwiches to the older man.

"No wonder I kept you around." Jack chuckles, quickly unwrapping the meal and making a low, appreciative groan in the back of his throat as he takes a large bite into it, some of the chicken threatening to fall out. Rhys shares his laughter, putting a lot of emphasis onto it to make sure that Jack took it sarcastically.

"I risk a lot for you and your sandwiches. I swear there was some creep staring at my ass whilst I was waiting at the counter." Rhys mutters, standing from the desk to throw his pasta pot in the bin.

"What? Really? You should've called me." Jack replies, standing from the desk, sucking some mayonnaise off his thumb and standing behind Rhys. His chest presses against his back, chin resting in the crook of his neck and arms snaking around his waist to hold him close.

"Why? And cause some scene? What good would that do?" Rhys replies, swaying in the the man's strong arms slightly. He didn't particularly like people staring at him, it made him uncomfortable. So for the guys eyes to be so obviously trained on his butt made him shift his weight from foot to foot, which just seemed to spur the man on more. Jack always told Rhys not too show discomfort or worry in the job position he was in now, but he was still learning how to hide all that. It was difficult.

"Still-" Jack continues, pressing heavy, reassuring kisses to Rhys' soft skin on his neck, obviously avoiding the clear answer to his questions, "you should call me if anything like that happens again." He continues hugging him slightly closer.

"Why? Would you defend my honour?" Rhys questions in a mock tone, wanting to lighten the mood from the sudden heavy atmosphere.

"Yes." Jack breathes, sweeping the younger male to the right, holding him in his arms and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, just long enough so the taste of mayonnaise and chicken can linger in his mouth, before swinging him upright again, making sure that he can stand on his two feet before letting go and returning to his desk. Taking another bite from the delicious pre made sandwich, he, reluctantly, pushes it to the side, and slides his chair out slightly.

"Kitten, c'mere." He calls, holding his hand out invitingly. Rhys happily sits on Jacks lap, letting Jack hook his hands under his ankles to swing them over the arm rest and his other hand supporting his back.

"We need to talk." He puts plainly. Rhys tries to sit up, wanting to make himself appear more formal and attentive, but Jack keeps him in the position he's in by stroking the nape of his neck with his fingertips and a hand pressing lightly on his stomach.

"I- haven't been completely honest with you." He begins, his eyes struggling to meet Rhys' as the younger man looks cautiously up at him, "Me, Moxxi, Lilith and Timothy did some digging and we know who infiltrated Hyperion and who kidnapped you." Jack continues, scanning Rhys' features for any indication on how he was handling the new information. Unfortunately, he still is simply looking up at him through his thick eyelashes.

"Both of them are part of the 'group'. That thief didn't come up to Helios, he came up for you, but I showed up before he could do anything." Jack explains, running his thumb lightly over Rhys' relaxed knuckles.

"But why me? I'm not really that important. I thought anyone that was in danger of kidnappings was you." Rhys questions, unsure and becoming slightly tense.

"Rhys, you really don't realise your value. You're important to me and your friends. I don't know what I'd do without you." Jack assures, pressing his face close to Rhys', "They're um, they're after your cybernetics. They know about how I was in your head as a program for so long and they want the software responsible." Jack explains, his hand running through Rhys' hair, trying to keep him as calm as possible.

"What for?!" Rhys asks, fidgeting slightly in Jacks lap, moving to sit a little straighter.

"W-We don't know that yet." Jack stammers, not liking that fact that he was in the dark about the motives of the bandits intentions. There's a silence between the pair. A deafening silence that is nibbling away at Jack and making him worried. Rhys slips down slightly, lying back in Jacks arms, his eyes trained on nothing across the room and thoughts buzzing through his head.

"Rhys?" Jack breathes quietly, not wanting to irritate the man.

"I'm not angry if that's why you're worried," Rhys interrupts, looking up at the older male, "thank you for telling me. I just... I just don't know what I'm going to do." He continues, pulling his gaze away again and butting his thumb, his incisors worrying at the nail.

"You don't need to do anything. I promise you, I'll protect you. No one will get close to you." Jack informs, making sure his tone his fearless and ready. Rhys allows a single chuckle to slip past his lips before pulling himself up to straddle Jack's thighs.

"I already knew you would Handsome." He chuckles, recalling Jack's tendencies to like to play the hero, "thank you." He breathes pressing quick pecks to the other man's lips before joining them for longer and more passionately. Rhys knew that it would be impossible to protect him from this. They didn't know how big the group was and how deep they ran. Some could even be on Helios. It just sounded like it was going to be a rough couple of months.


	17. Anxiety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kinda a filler chapter. I've been writing it over a couple of days of doing college and client work as a little get away from the stress and stuff. I suffer from pretty bad anxiety, more so in certain situations than others, so I wanted to put in some detailed description on how Rhys was feeling with the knowledge that people were after him. After all, not everyone knows the feeling as much as others, so I wanted people to understand it a little better I suppose.  
> I hope you enjoys this anyways. It's my project submission week this week, so chapters will be back to normal next week :)

Everyone that gave him a sideways glance made him nervous. Obviously, Jack had promised to keep him safe and Jack always lived up to his word, but that still didn't stop the feeling of eyes on him, his movements being marked and steps being traced. If that guy was able to get into Helios, past security and into Angels room without flagging up, then he must've looked convincing enough to pass as a Hyperion worker. Therefore anyone passing him in the corridors or being sent up to his and Jack's office or sitting next to him in meetings could be a possible assassin, murderer, bandit... He'd had the same nagging sense of uneasiness since Jack told him the truth about the files and secret meeting with Moxxi, Timothy and Lilith, three days ago. It wasn't a nice feeling. Not feeling safe in the place you'd worked at for so many years and sitting in the place you call home. He always felt a little more protected in Jack's presence, either sitting in his lap whilst doing some work or cuddled in his bed at night, the thrum of the older man's heartbeat lulling him to sleep. He'd begun to make sure that he could always hear or see the man, as a sense of security whilst walking around the corridors. His comm was nearly always on now and he tried to remain close to Jack as much as he could. Security always followed a couple of steps behind, reassuring Rhys that they were there, but not making it obvious to the workers that he was under constant protection and surveillance. That would seriously dent his reputation and level of power, it had the possibility of throwing some of the workers into a for of panic as well. If the President of Hyperion was forced to have bodyguards around his own space station, then what was on board that was so bad that he feared for his life? Even though Jack had chosen them personally, he still didn't hold much trust in the two bulky men in suits behind him. He'd never met them before, had no social interactions with them and didn't truly believe that they would protect him if things got a little rough, no matter about put their lives on the line for Rhys'. For all he knows, they could be bandits too... Its a good thing that they were steps behind. He didn't particularly like the idea of walking shoulder to shoulder with them, that would certainly make him feel boxed in with no options. Suddenly, his thoughts are interrupted when Vaughn calls his name from the bottom of the corridor and makes his way over.

"Hey, bro, how you doing?" He asks, clapping a hand on Rhys' shoulder.

"Not great," he murmurs, pinching the bridge of his nose, glancing back slightly to see the two bodyguards getting a little fidgety at the new presence, trying to determine if he was a threat. "How's your day going?" He continues, waving a hand over his shoulder, calming the pair before they get too over their heads and tackle someone to the floor.

"A lot better than yours by the looks of things. Anything you wanna get of your chest?" Vaughn offers, picking up on the dark circles around Rhys' tired eyes.

"I'm just on edge! There are so many people in this space station and I have no clue if I can trust any of them. I mean, I have you and Yvette up here, but two against god knows how many bandits isn't really gonna stop me dying. Everyone that takes a second look at me ends up making me panic. I feel as if everyone is giving me a dirty look, marking their target and I feel so pathetic that I need to be in Jack's presence all the time just to feel safe." Rhys rants, getting all the tied up emotions out finally after being pent up for so long.

"Kinda understandable after hearing that some group is trying to get you. You shouldn't feel ashamed about the Jack thing though bro. Its a good thing that he makes you feel safe. No good being around someone who still makes you fear for your life right?" Vaughn urges, trying to shine some positive light onto Rhys' current situation. Rhys nods in understanding and possibly agreement.

"Why don't you ask Jack to go home for the day? You look terrible." Vaughn comments truthfully.

"Gee thanks." Rhys droans, monotone. "Being at Jack penthouse would probably just make me feel more anxious in the fact that I'll be alone." Rhys replies, his flesh hand reaching across his chest to hold onto the cybernetic forearm.

"No one knows where is penthouse is though right? Needless to say that the security's so tight no one could get in. But I get it. Big places make me a little nervous too." Vaughn chuckles, slight awkward embarrassment entering his voice, "at least take on nap on the couch in the office. That way Jack will be there and you can get at least a little sleep. All this none sleeping will seriously make you ill." He continues, his tone more serious now, showing absolute concern for his friend.

"Yeah, I gotta admit, I can't object to a little sleep." Rhys agrees, a yawn forcing it's way past his lips as if confirming the point made.

"Well, anyway, I gotta get back to work. Sales reports for the end of the month are almost due. You go and get some sleep and, don't worry about lunch, I'll tell Yvette where you are." Vaughn says, walling past Rhys and throwing a wave back at him over his shoulder. Sleep did sound good right about now... And if Jack was doing work in the office, he's positive he'd be able to have a nap under his watch. Obviously he'd make sure there wasn't any work for him to complete or catch up on before he took his long, overdue sleep.

"Hey baby boy, how you doin'?" Jack's stereo voice calls through his ECHOcomm, as if on cue.

"Hey, fine thanks. What about you?" Rhys replies, his hand running through his hair, dragging his feet as he heads toward the elevator.

"Well, I know that's a lie, but if you don't wanna tell me about it, then don't worry. I'm good thanks.What you up to?" Jack shoots down his attempt at covering his everly worsening mood.

"How could you tell? And heading back up to the office." Rhys replies, stepping into the elevator, the two bodyguards at his side.

"Can hear it in your voice Kitten. Rough day?" He replies, his voice growing concerned from its previous silky soft.

"Just tired and... On edge. Kinda just wanna take a nap in the office." Rhys hints, his cybernetic hand moving to rub at the back of his neck.

"I'm really sorry to have to do this to you babe, but we need to head to a meeting when you get up here." Jack begins, instantly filling Rhys' gut with dread, it festering in the very pit of his stomach.

"A m-meeting?" He stammers, suddenly feeling anxious and sick. Trapped in a room with at least twelve other people, which anyone of them could be a bandit...

"Yeah, I gotta listen to some crappy gun promotion speech or summit. I promise though, as soon as its over, we can head back to the office and you can take a nap." Jack continues, trying to assure the younger man that his nap was secured.

"O-okay." Rhys replies, nodding as if Jack could see him and the elevator slowing to a stop on the office floor.

* * *

Rhys squeezes Jack's hand, unconsciously, for easily the sixth time in the past five minuets. Jack understood that he was extremely uncomfortable in this situation right now, and felt bad telling him to stop, but this was seriously beginning to get out of hand. This is the reason why he planned to withhold the information from the younger man. Because he would worry. The lithe man had made sure to push his body as close as he can, arm pressed firmly against Jacks. Any closer and he'd probably be sitting in the older mans lap. Not that that was a bad idea, it was just unprofessional. Suddenly, however, Jack begins to pull away and goes to stand from his seat before Rhys tugs at his sleeve with a rather mortified look.

"I've just gotta give a little speech to motivate them or some shit. I'll be five minuets tops." Jack tells the young man, taking his hand lightly and unhooking it from his jacket. Rhys watches the man leave his seat and take the few steps, a few more than Rhys is comfortable with, and he stands, rather confidently, at the front, next to the brunette woman who was holding the meeting and presentation. The light from the projector up above cascades down onto Jack's form, glinting off the metal clasps on his mask and making his hetrochromic eyes glisten.

"So then team, designs and blueprints are looking good. I'd say the sooner we get these into production, the sooner we can get them into buisness and watch them fly off the shelves." Jack begins, the praising words coming from his lips sounding rather foreign to most of the employees in the room. "Keeping with the Hyperion yellow. Nice. Maybe on the pistol we mix in a bit of a gold shine and black, gotta make it a little catchy, especially as Tediore seem to be upping their game. On the shotgun, how about having all the underbits in red. Bring in some of the classic colors, y'know?" Jack offers his opinions, mostly directing it to the woman who was giving the presentation.

"Absolutely sir." She needs in agreement, signalling for someone to her right to jott down some notes. Rhys' eyes catch on a corporal businessman walking past the window wall to the office, his eyes scanning over the people in the room and locking onto Rhys as he walks past. He can't help but shift in his seat, his hands gripping the armrests, knuckles turning white, in an attempt at comfort and he tries to keep his breathing steady. He tries so hard. But when the same man passes past again and heads toward the elevator, it sends him into a bit of a panic fit. His breathing because ragged and his ankles cross. He has just enough control to keep his uneven breathing quiet, not disturbing anyone in the room. Well, any but one. Jack has noticed his struggling form at the back of the room and acts quickly.

"Other than that," he begins, clapping his hands together and rubbing the palms together, "you're all doing a good job and are on the right track. Let's wrap this meeting up shall we?" He finishes, stepping from the projectors glow and heading over toward Rhys.

"B-But sir, we haven't finished-" the woman calls, wanting to hold his attention for a little longer.

"That wasn't a request sweet cheeks. Any more important info forward it to my PA. She'll pass it on." Jack orders, making sure to lace a little venom into his tone to ascertain his powerful position and tell people that it wasn't a topic up for debate. Holding his hand out to Rhys, it takes a couple of seconds of hesitation, before Rhys clasps it and allows Jack to pull him up from the chair and escort him out of the room.

"We're gonna have to get this sorta Kitten. I was in the same room and only away from your aide for about three minuets." Jack informs, and hand running through his hair and a heavy sigh escaping his lips. It was a caring gesture. His tone was concerned, not angry or disappointed, but Rhys knew what he ment. There are going to be times when Jack will have to leave the room and probably for longer than five minuets. Rhys needed to remember how to handle that.

"I'm sorry." Rhys apologizes, feeling as if he was causing a lot more trouble than he was worth.

"Nothing to be sorry about baby boy. I just wanna see the confident you again." Jack replies, holding his arm out for Rhys to tuck into, his body pressing close into Jack side as his hand wraps comfortably around his form. "The you that would flourish in the daylight and who made stupid desicions." Jack chuckles lightly, "I don't like to see you so scared Rhysie. So scared that you don't wanna be without me and too scared to step out on your own." Jack finishes, his tone suddenly a sad form of seriousness. His expression was calm, the corner of his lips down turned slightly.

"S-Sorry." Rhys stammers, repeating his words being the only thing that he can think of doing. He felt so bad that he was causing all this trouble and the only way he would be able to rectify his actions was to apologize for all of them.

"Stop apologizing, you've done nothing wrong." Jack soothes, his hand coming up to run his fingers through Rhys' hair.

"Ok... So-" Rhys begins again, feeling the urge to apologize again. However, he's cut off by a small roll of the eyes from Jack and his face coming close, their lips pressing together tenderly. Rhys leans into him, feeling the older mans arms wrap around his hips, hands pressed against the small of his back. Jack pushes into him, causing the younger man to arch his back as most of his weight his held by his lover. Rhys can't stop a small moan rising up from the back of his throat, his fingers clawing at the fabrics of various different layers of Jack's clothing.

"So needy today Pumpkin. If I knew you were gonna be high maintenance, I would've let you have that nap sooner." Jack purrs, parting his lips and keeping his face close. Rhys replies by pulling his head close again, crushing their lips together, and licking a slick line over the older man's bottom lip. He feels his masked lips turn up into a smile against his naked ones. The 'ding' of the elevator abruptly interrupts, slowing to a stop and delivering them to their floor. Pulling from each other, their hand clasp together, fingers tangling and walk the long corridor into their shared office.

"Is there any work there I need to do?" Rhys asks, watching as Jack's eyes scan over some papers that had recently been placed on his desk.

"Nah, don't worry about it sweetheart, just some documents that need signatures. You take a nap." Jack smirks, his fingertips tickling lightly under his chin, before sitting on his desk chair, legs crossing in the compartment underneath and typing away on his wireless keyboard. Rhys settles down on the couch, curling around a plump Hyperion yellow cushion, one placed under his head, the white leather's cool temperature seeping through is clothing. Although it was usually a particularly comfortable place to sit and relax... it wasn't the best place to sleep. He must be fidgeting, changing his position by throwing various limbs around, for at least five minuets, before Jack stops him.

"Kitten, why don't you come an sit on my nap. Clearly you're not comfortable." Jack chuckles, pushing out his chair slightly to make it a little more inviting. Rhys gladly curls up on the man's lap, his head resting lightly against his chest and the wireless keyboard being moved into his lap.

"You just go to sleep. I know you haven't gotten much sleep so you deserve at least a little before we get home." Jack purrs, one hand fiddling with the ends of Rhys' hair at the nape on his neck, the other gliding over the keyboard. the soft noises of buttons being tapped, at a fairly quick pace with just one hand, and the steady thrum of his heartbeat pounding at a steady pace in his chest, slowly beginning to lull Rhys into a quiet and peaceful sleep, the warmth and fabrics against any bare skin causing him a sense of security that he hadn't felt all day.

* * *

The quick typing that had once filled the room with a quiet noise had stopped. Fadded slowly out of earshot as fingers slowed and rested, hovering over the space bar, far too distracted to continue. It began by noticing the light puffs of breath escaping the younger mans lips, then by his fingers twitching occasionally, finally resulting in distracting Jack all together. His eyes are drawn to the sleeping form in his lap, eyes looking at every feature on Rhys' face, picking up how is eyebrows would arch every so often, the way there was a small patch of scar tissue around his port and how his lips parted just enough to reveal the pink of his inner lip. So calm. So content. An expression which, over the past three days, had become foriegn to his face. Jack was grateful that he got the chance to see his face without wrinkles of worry on his forehead from furrowed eyebrows. He could even swear that there was the small etch of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Recently, he wasn't getting much sleep at night. Rhys would wake up with night terrors, breathing deep in a heavy sweat, limbs flailing in an attempt to get 'them' off of him. Jack was woke six times the first night, calming the kid down, tell him that everything was ok, looking after him and coaxing him back into sleep again. He didn't mind. He knew the amount of stress that he was under and how difficult he found it. The last thing he wanted was for him to feel like he had to suffer it alone. But after that night, Rhys had started to make sure that he didn't wake Jack up. He'd either calm himself down and go back to sleep to be woken again an hour later, or vacate the room, curling up on the couch, turning the TV on to simulate a friendly presence so he didn't feel alone. Jack would've said something, scolded him for doing that to himself and not waking Jack up... But he didn't want to provoke or hurt him more, so he let it slide. After all, he didn't want to come across as controlling. Rhys was old enough to make desicions for himself and if he wanted to keep that from Jack, then that was his decision. But looking down at him now, curled against his body, dreaming something sweet and happy, it reminded Jack of why he felt the urge to protect him so much. He looked so innocent and to pure for this world. Which then reminds him of how lucky he was. How had he managed to get him to be his boyfriend? There were so many people on this space station, on Pandora, that Rhys could've chosen... But he picked Jack. Jack can't help but smirk, watching as Rhys' smile now becomes more evident, eyes moving under his eyelids and his hand reaching up to grip lightly at the neck of his waistcoat. Jack can feel his fingers shift slightly under the leather against the two other layers. He felt like he was in the kids head again, watching even when he thought he wasn't. The way he handled himself on Pandora would make anyone think he'd been there before. He was a lot calmer than most. The way that the sun beat down in his, glinting against his irises and his tongue poking out every so often to reset his lips. The moments when him, Vaughn, Athena, Sasha and Fiona got chance to just sit down and relax and he'd heard the melodic noise of his laughter kiss at his ears. Even that super rare moment when Rhys became to hot to care anymore and just whipped his shirt off, unphased by what anyone thought and tucking the duck egg blouse into the back of his trousers, it swaying like a pony tail with every step. How fun it had all become when Jack had Rhys to talk to. Back into reality, the computer screen darkens, fed up of waiting for its user and it switching to screensaver. Rhys looked beautiful in the light from above cascading down and the soft glow of blue from the computer bouncing from his skin, but now... Jack had to remember how to breathe, his quickly sucked in inhale still lingering in his chest. The screensaver had a variant of neon colors dancing and swirling over the otherwise pitch black screen, and now this colors were reflecting onto Rhys skin, purples mixing into Pinks, blues into yellows and reds into oranges. It was truly something. He'd have to make a mental note to take him to Elpis one day, just to experience to neons there. Whilst Rhys would spend a day in a totally new environment, Jack would get to spend all of it marveling at another side to his magnificent beauty. Suddenly, Rhys shifts, a small breath carrying the older man's name brushing past his lips, the peaceful smile still lingering.

"What are you dreaming about Kitten?" Jack whispers to himself, his fingertips rubbing small, light circles on the younger man's scalp. He pulls his eyes away for not even a second to glance at the clock. 6pm. He's ready to call that a day. He really wanted to keep Rhys sleeping. Carrying him to the car wouldn't be a problem and if he did wake up a long the way he wouldn't feel as guilty. But you can garuntee, if he was to do that, Rhys would have something important here that would get left over the weekend. Very gently, his thumb rubs the snoozing man's forehead, rousing his slightly.

"Hey baby." Jack calls quietly, his voice just over a whisper. The neon lights from before hit against Rhys' tired, half lidded eyes and Jacks mouth parts slightly, everything suddenly becoming two times better than before.

"Hi." Rhys smirks back, stretching his limbs out for a couple of seconds, a yawn pushing past his lips, before quickly drawing back in on himself.

"I think we're gonna call that a day now. Ready to head home?" Jack informs, moving the keyboard back onto the desk. Rhys nods, before moving to stand up.

"Anything you need to grab before we go? I don't really plan to come back up till Monday." Jack warns, standing from the office chair and rolling it under the desk.

"Nope."

Great, that made Jack feel super guilty now. Rubbing at his tired eyes, Rhys hands his flesh palm out to Jack, expecting him to take it and walk with him to the elevator, but suddenly, arms catch the knees, pulling him up into the mans arms. Rhys quickly wraps his arms around Jacks neck, trying to make it easier for the man. He would probably object against this, but he knew Jack would have the last word and he was to tired to bother right now. He'd allow him to get away with it free of charge this time.

 


	18. Mission Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Trailer for Episode 5  
> Amazing!  
> So many questions though! It looks like it's going to be an emotional one... I'm definitely gonna cry at the end of it all XD  
> If I have to watch/decide any more people die (or a second time for Jack DX )...  
> I want to play it because I want to know what's gonna happen, but at the same time I don't because then that's it... no more tales... all over... done.  
> Anyway I'm rambling, enjoy the chapter!

Rhys tangles his legs with Jacks, cool feet pressing against slightly warmer ones. His arm is pressed close to his chest, sandwiched between him and his lover, his cybernetic arm mounted on its stand, charging. One of Jacks hands rest lightly on his lithe hip, whilst the other reaches up, curving back down on the pillow to tangle his fingers in his auburn hair. Jack had been the main reason he'd gotten to sleep that night. He knew exactly where and how to run his fingers through his hair, nails lightly scrapping his scalp, to sooth his mind enough to put him into a relaxed state of being. It was the best and longest nights sleep he'd gotten in a while. But being that they had gone to bed almost as soon as they had returned home, Rhys had now woken at about six in the morning. The perfect time to watch the sun come up. The morning rays glowing over Jacks form as he lay next to him, eyes still closed and mind still dreaming. The scar that arches over his face is made more prominent in this light, the blue tinge becoming more highlighted.

"I should be the first to wake up and admire you Kitten." Jack suddenly breathes, his eyes remaining closed. Rhys can't help but jump slightly, his thoughts being interrupted so abruptly. A small chuckle rumbles through Jacks chest, his eyes opening to look down at his partner with half lidded eyes.

"How you feeling?" Jack soothes, a hand raking through Rhys' hair and lips pressing lightly against his forehead.

"Refreshed." Rhys grins, his system feeling as if it had gone through a reset and it was working at full efficiency again.

"Good thing too, we're all out of coffee." Jack smirks, watching as Rhys giggles slightly.

"I'll get some later." Rhys soothes, turning his back to the older man, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, not noticing when Jacks hand slips under the sheets.

"No Kitten, stay here." Jack insists, wrapping his other arm around Rhys' waist and tugging him back under the sheets. Quickly relinquishing to defeat, he lies back, head resting lightly on Jacks stomach, before noticing the hand kneading under the sheets around the crotch area.

"Really Jack?" Rhys breathes, pulling his eyes away from the movements to tilt his head to the left to look directly at Jack. His teeth are worrying his bottom lip as half lidded eyes look down at his younger partner.

"Can't help it babe, morning wood hits everyone." Jack smirks slyly, "and you look so pretty in the mornings that I just can't help myself." He continues, his voice dropping to a smooth, coaxing tone. A small sigh hitching at his chuckle, Rhys moves onto all fours, kneeling over the older man's thighs and teasingly pulling the sheets down, batting his hand away, causing the suspense and want bite chunks from Jack. Even more slower than before, Rhys extends his tongue, peaking it out of his slightly parted lips, to lick a slick stripe up the underside of Jacks cock. The CEO thrusts his hips at the sudden movement, shuddering and his hands curling in the sheets.

"Ooooh kiddo." He breathes, his teeth going back to chew on his bottom lip again. After a few more strokes with his tongue, Rhys slides his lips, slowly, over the already red and sensitive head, taking him all in.

"I cawt- believfe tat-" Rhys begins, pausing every so often to talk, keeping Jack's cock snugly in his mouth. However, he's interrupted by Jack fingers tangling into his hair, pulling his head up.

"Don't talk with your mouth full Sweetheart." He breathes, his free hand coming forward to trace his bottom lip. A deep blush spreads over his cheeks at being playfully scolded.

"Continue." Jack urges, smirking drunkly at his partner.

"I-I can't believe that I'm sucking your cock this early in the morning." Rhys mutters, his lips kissing the head again.

"You don't have to." Jack chuckles, fingers brushing over the port on the side of Rhys' head.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that. I'm happy to be honest. Everything's been so stressful and on edge lately that it's nice to have time together again." Rhys quickly corrects, smiling warmly up at the older male, taking him in again. Jack hesitates for a beat, watching the amber haired man bob his head on his hips, before smiling appreciatively. His lips part ever so slightly, his head rolling back to rest on the head board eyes half slated, fingers tangling and knotting in the younger's hair. He had a point. They hadn't been able to relax nearly as much as before all of this. Rhys had never seemed like himself, always jumpy and anxious toward things that normally wouldn't bother him. His hips begin to vault up, thrusting into the kids soft, warm mouth as he is brought closer and closer to his finish. It was nice to finally be doing this together, not just because they probably had the _best_ sex, but because it meant that Rhys was beginning to feel comfortable in his own skin and surroundings again. It was one step to normalisation again.

"Ah, shit kiddo." Jack breathes through a clenched jaw, one had clenched in the sheets, the other pushing Rhys down slightly, hips stilling as he reaches climax

* * *

Rhys lies patiently, limbs outstretched on the couch and head placed, surprisingly comfortably, on Moxxi's lap. He didn't have much choice with that last one. At first, he was slightly hesitant, but as soon as her fingers started raking lightly through his hair, he easily got comfortable and couldn't resist. His eyes are slated and he gradually drifts off to the calm atmosphere, the only noises being the light chatter between Moxxi, Timothy and Lilith. He stifles a yawn, too lazy to raise his hand and too polite to yawn directly into Moxxi's face. Her other hand is resting lightly on his chest, moving with it at it rises and falls. Yet another yawn tries to force its way past his lips as he brings his left foot up, using the heel of it to scratch at his right ankle.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't steal my boyfriend after leaving him alone for five minuets." Jack's voice drones, monotone, entering the room and making a beeline for his desk, dropping several bulky files onto it.

"Well, _you_ shouldn't take so long to greet visitors." Moxxi grins, her eyes following Jack as he moves, fingers still tangled in Rhys' hair, "are you letting this kid get enough sleep? He's yawning an awful lot." Moxxi teases, causing Rhys to open an eye, looking up at her half heartedly. He tries to give her a rather unimpressed, disapproving look at spurring the older man on, but it doesn't phase her. She simple allows the tip of her tongue to peak out between her lips.

"What me and him get up to at night is no one else's business, no matter how good it is. Isn't that Rhysie?" Jack smirks, winking to his partner, his mood greatly lifted from his post-meeting boredom.

"I hate everyone." Rhys breathes, sitting up from Moxxi's lap and resting an elbow on the couch armrest, his chin fitting into the palm of his hand.  
“So, how’s the search going? Heard any of the scum on Pandora mention our man?” Jack asks, slipping into a more serious mood, directing his speech more to Moxxi, Tim and Lilith, rather than Rhys.

“Wait- What?” Rhys frowns, looking over to Jack, before his question is swiftly ignored and his confusion is left unnoticed.

“That ‘scum’ is our friends an family asshole.” Lilith snarls, still not on the best terms with the CEO. Just because she agreed to work with him in no way meant that she had to be friends with him. To be perfectly honest, she was mostly doing is for Rhys. If he was happy dating a sadistic, power craved dick, that probably had a murder list longer that Rhys’ film collection, then who was she to interrupt them? Besides, if what Timothy and Moxxi were correct in saying that they’d seen a change in the man because of Rhys, she’d rather keep them together as it meant no unnecessary killings.

“You know what I meant.” Jack sneers, slipping some stray papers into one of the already full folders that he brought in earlier.

“Um- hello?” Rhys tries again, trying to get update information on their situation. Once again he is ignored.

“Nothing yet. Last we heard was that transmission.” Moxxi replies, wanting to move the impending argument along quickly and referring to yet another thing that Rhys didn't know about.

“What search? What transmission?!” Rhys punctuates, gritting his teeth and standing up from the couch to make his voice heard. It works.

“I thought you told him?” Timothy mutters, glancing over at Jack, who has quickly reverted to pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Told me what?” Rhys winces, concern beginning to bubble up from the pit of his gut. He thought that they had gotten past all of the keeping secrets and ‘I don’t want you to worry about it’ stuff. After the explanation he gave him the other day, was he really still holding things back from him?

“I did tell him, just- not everything.” Jack sighs, leaning back in his chair.

“What haven’t you told me? _Why_ haven’t you told me?!” Rhys continues, the concern quickly dying away, being replaced by anger burning in his chest.

“Don’t you remember the other day? Not too long ago, you couldn't sleep because you were so worried about what was going on. I thought it was best to hold back information until you could handle it, otherwise you would've had a fucking panic attack.” Jack replies, gradually beginning to match Rhys’ frustration, trying to make sure that his point is understood and accepted. 

"Unbelievable." Rhys mutters, heading toward the heavy duty doors of the office.

"Where do you think you're going? This concerns you too." Jack calls, his hand curling into a fist, ready to slam it on the desk in either irritation or a form of getting the kids attention.

"Well obviously it doesn't. Come find me when you think it _concerns_ me enough and you wanna tell me everything!" Rhys exclaims, not even turning back as the doors slide shut with a hiss of air from the hydraulics. The younger male storms down the corridor toward the elevator, ready to go back home. _His_ home. Not Jack's fancy penthouse. His crappy apartment that he shared with Vaughn, that the rent was way to high but they still paid it because its cozy as hell.  
That was probably a dumb thing to do. This problem was revolving around him currently. The bandits wanted _him_ _._ Not _Jack_ or _Timothy_ or anyone _else_ on this space station. Everyone back in that room was only trying to help him out. But, he was stubborn. If he went back and apologized now, he'd feel like a bit of a sell out. Needless to say that Jack would take his time gloating and teasing. Besides, he had the right to be annoyed. Maybe he just shouldn't have reacted the way he did.

* * *

"For fucks sake. Why does he always make me feel like the bad guy?" Jack sighs, rubbing his face with his hands in an attempt to de-stress.

"Because... You are? That was a bit of a dick move Jack. This stuff concerns the kid too and you can't just hold back half of the info." Lilith replies, leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest.

"I don't remember asking you for relationship advice." Jack seethes, his eyes glaring out through the spaces between his fingers.

"Don't start. You haven't told him everything, but you can. Just go down now and come back up to us after you've explained it. We can't have this conversation without him." Timothy insists. Reluctantly, Jack pushes out from under the desk and makes his way down the same route that Rhys took a couple of minuets ago. He didn't want to give in and admit that he'd done wrong and apologize. But when it came to Rhys, he didn't mind if sometimes he let his pride fall to keep him happy.

* * *

Rhys hugs the pillow close to his chest, lying on his side in the fetal position on his bed. He could hear Jack pacing outside his room after countless knocks and several attempts to gain access through his blocked door. Vaughn had let him into the apartment. Well, more like he got ordered. He was called up from his floor, to be demanded by Jack that he unlock the front door. Poor guy. There had been various profanities exclaimed from the lounge, demands from Jack of 'Rhys open this god-damned door right now!', but now, everything was silent. No more pacing, no more pounding his fist on the door, just silence.

"Rhys," A breathy whisper calls out, the shadow of Jack cascading from under the door through the small gap between wood and slat flooring, "Please don't ignore me. I'm sorry ok? I just wanted to do what I thought was best for you, that would protect you the most. I don't wanna lose you. I'm scared. The transmission was from the bandits... they said that if we don't send you down to them, they'll send someone up. Someone to integrate and pass as a Hyperion employee to get you.. Please just open the door." Jack basically pleads, although he would probably never call it that. Guilt begins to eat away at Rhys, pushing him to finally pull the cabinet away from the door and crack it open, watching as Jack's hands slide of the wood to fall to his side.

"Then- lets do it." He replies seriously, opening the door fully.

"Do... what?" Jack asks, unsure at what he meant, but getting the sickening feeling he might.

"Send me down to Pandora." Rhys replies.

"WHAT?! Are you crazy?! Did you hit your fucking head and knock something lose kiddo? If you take one step onto Pandora, you're as good as dead! These people want to _kill_ you, not take you to the amusement park." Jack exclaims, rapping his knuckles lightly against Rhys' forehead as if that would suddenly change his mind or 'put sense into him'.

"The only way we're gonna find where they're hiding is for me to go to and draw them out. After that, you and Hyperion's little _army_ can take them as easy pickings. Smooth Sailing." Rhys grins at him _obviously_ brilliant and fool proof plan.

"Smooth sailing he says," Jack mutters under his breath, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "Come back up to the office and we'll iron out the... er... kinks on you plan. Your Pandoran chicks will be able to help." Jack insists, holding his hand out to Rhys, who takes it, leading him out of the apartment.

"Wait, Sasha and Fiona are in on this as well?" Rhys questions, his eyebrows furrowing together, the similar anger from before quickly returning.

"Course they are. What better way to fight against bandits than with more bandits?" Jack chuckles. There were multiple things that Rhys wanted to say, like; 'They're not bandits' and 'why didn't you tell me earlier?, but he thought it easier to just drop it for now. The sooner they finished this, the sooner life would go back to normal.


	19. Incapacitated

He swallows thickly, hands gripping his knees tightly, his cybernetic arm beginning to make it a little more uncomfortable, but his anxiety forcing him to put up with it. The pods chair was reasonably comfortable considering it was made for short travel, and/or escape. He's still trying to get over himself. He'd suggested this, not any one else, they just kinda filled in the gaps that he didn't know how to do. Where had his confidence come from back then? And why was he so sure to believe himself? This was crazy, stupid even! But, its a bit late now. He couldn't exactly call up the bandits whilst in the pod down to Pandora and say that the deal was off...

_"_ _How_ _you_ _doing_ _Kitten_ _?"_ Jacks stereo voice asks through the earpiece.

"Ha, I've only been gone five minuets and your already checking up on me." Rhys chuckles, finding it an easy way to cover the nerves in his tone, teasing the older male.

_"_ _I_ _just_ _wanna_ _make_ _sure_ _that_ _you're_ _not_ _crying_ _or_ _anything_ _,"_ Jack remarks, and Rhys can already imagine the shit eating grin plastered to his face, _"_ _plus_ _I_ _know_ _how_ _boring_ _the_ _ride_ _down_ _to_ _Pandora_ _can_ _be_ _."_ He adds, making certain that Rhys took the last comment as a joke. There's a beat of silence, before the smirk is pulled from Rhys' lips and the comedy act fizzles out.

"I'm scared Jack." He swallows, head rolling back to rest against the seat. Theres that silence again. Jack presses his face into his hands, rubbing lightly, before leaning forward in his chair.

_"_ _Listen_ _Rhys_ _,_ _I'm_ _gonna_ _be_ _right_ _beside_ _you_ _._ _I_ _won't_ _let_ anyone _hurt_ _you_ _._ _I'll_ _be_ _honest_ _,_ _I'm_ _a_ _little_ _nervous_ _as_ _well_ _._ _I'm_ _not_ _normally_ _one_ _to_ _stick_ _to_ _plans_ _,_ _but_ _this_ _plan_ _is_ _crucial_ _for_ _everything_ _to_ _go_ _correctly_ _and_ _for_ _everyone_ _to_ _come_ _out_ _alive_ _._ _Its_ _alot_ _of_ _pressure_ _._ _But_ _,_ _I_ _know_ _we_ _can_ _do_ _it_ _._ _You'll_ _do_ _fine_ _."_ Jack admits, causing Rhys to feel a sudden grip of homesickness. He really didn't want to do this now that he was here. He wanted to be cuddled up in Jack's arms, fitting perfectly into his lap whilst he works. Needless to say his anxiety was through the fucking roof.

_"_ _You're_ _about_ _to_ _enter_ _Pandora's_ _atmosphere_ _._ _We'll_ _lose_ _connection_ _for_ _a_ _couple_ _of_ _minuets_ _,_ _but_ _I'll_ _say_ _something_ _when_ _we_ _connect_ _again_ _._ Don't _r_ _eply_ _!_ _We_ _can't_ _have_ _them_ _knowing_ _that_ _you're_ _still_ _connected_ _to_ _Helios_ _._ _They_ _should_ _be_ _waiting_ _when_ _you_ _land_ _._ _I_ _love_ _you_ _ba-."_   Jack he explains, before his voice is cut short from the lost connection. Now Rhys just felt even worse. He hears the engines slow, his seat automatically turning away from the control panel to face toward the door as the pod lands with a soft jump on its struts. He could already hear talking outside. The doors slide open from someone pressing the button outside.

"That's him." Someone out of Rhys' peripheral vision confirms.

"C'mon Kid, get out." Who he assumes is the leader of the clan/group/team, whatever, orders, tilting his two-hands-required gun in an attempt to hurry him up. Rhys obeys obediently. He was already in a sticky situation, he didn't want it to get any worse. Suddenly, his knees are kicked from behind, effectively knocking him over, his new, expensive, black trousers already being coated in the familiar orange dust that he had come to hate. Both hands arm grabbed and roughly pulled behind his back, pressing against the small of his back, y'know the awkward part where he associated with Jack and anyone trying to pick him up. Also the bit where when anything cold pressed against it, like; his arm, for instance, causes him to flinch, back arching in an attempt to keep the two from having contact again.

"Don't get funny Kid." Someone growls from behind, the sound of duct tape being unrolled.

"I'm not, it-" he begins, forgetting everything Back said about back-chatting or talking in general, earning the butt of a gun to be hit against his head. It wasn't a hard hit, but wasn't exactly a tap either. His wrists are bound together, a little tighter than what is comfortable, and he's pulled back up to his feet.

"Right, so, let's get one thing clear. We don't _care_ about your _well_ _being_ whilst you're down here. We just want the technology in your head. Anything that happens after then doesn't concern us." The bandit leader growls, pacing short lines in front of him, making sure to show of the gun clasped in his hands.

_'_ _Good_ _thing_ _that_ _they_ _won't_ _even_ _make_ _it_ _back_ _to_ _their_ _base_ _then_ _.'_ The familiar voice of Jack growls in Rhys' ear, a flood of relief filling his gut. Someone pushes his shoulder, getting him walking, various masked people around him, forcing him to walk in the centre.

_'_ _So_ _then_ _Kitten, Sasha_ _and_ _Fiona_ _are_ _up_ _ahead_ _with_ _Mox_ _._ _They'll_ _follow_ _you_ _and_ _the_ _group_ _to_ _their_ _base_ _._ _They've_ _got_ _a_ _tracker_ _with_ _them_ _,_ _so_ _the_ _coordinates_ _are_ _sent_ _to_ _me_ _,_ _Timothy_ _and_ _Lilith_ _._ _We'll_ _take_ _everyone_ _out_ _before_ _they_ _even_ _get_ _you_ _through_ _the_ _gates_ _.'_ Jack informs, causing Rhys' eyes to shift slightly. He was trying to get a glimpse of the three girls, it would settle him a little, but he was trying to cover it up. Besides, they were probably hiding. If they made it too obvious, then the plan would fall apart immediately. Rhys really wants to answer him. But it was too risky. The need was growing though. The need to talk to the person who he loved and needed to calm his nerves... He bites the inside of his cheek to prevent any words escaping his lips.

* * *

They'd been walking for so long now. The sun beating down on them, the heat radiating off the sand visible in the distance and his throat dry as the desert they were trekking on. He needs a drink. Badly. He swallows in an attempt to wet his throat, but it wasn't happening. He felt weak. He can't remember the heat being this bad last time. But last time they had a nice, air conditioned caravan to ride around in and they didn't spend too long in the open heat. He was fairly certain there wasn't a dry patch of hair left on his head, it was all being weighed down and stuck to his scalp from the sweat. Suddenly, his legs falter, shake at the knees, but he's able to recover and keep up pace.

_'C'mon_ _baby_ _boy_ _,_ _you_ _can_ _make_ _it_ _._ _Sasha_ _told_ _me_ _you_ _look_ _like_ _you're_ _struggling_ _._ _You_ _won't_ _be_ _far_ _now_ _,_ _just_ _give_ _it_ _one_ _last_ _push_ _!_ _Then_ _you_ _can_ _curl_ _up_ _with_ _me_ _on_ _the_ _couch_ _.'_ Jack gives words of encouragement through the ear piece. He wanted to do well, wanted to continue, for him. But, he just couldn't. He was dehydrated, out of energy and he'd reached his best. His legs buckles and he topples forward, face pressing against the sand. The burning sensation from the grains against his face didn't even bother him. It wasn't enough to make him move.

_'_ _Nononono_ _,_ _c'mon_ _Rhysie_ _._ _Get_ _up_ _!_ _You_ _can_ _do_ _this_ _.'_ Jack urges, concern in his tone.

"I can't Jack." Rhys whines, eyes heavy and mind drifting. However, his eyes suddenly shoot open and mind snaps back at the realisation at what he'd just done.

"What the fuck did he just say?" Someone questions. Another straddles his hips, turning him onto his back and checking through his pockets.

"He could just be delusional. Kids dehydrated." Jack had gone quiet in an attempt to stop them from finding the ear piece. Beside, the breathe was caught in his chest so tight and worry bite away at him so much that he probably couldn't speak even if he wanted to.

"Didn't nobody check him?!" The bandit straddling his hips exclaims, ripping the ear piece from his ear and holding it up for the group to see.

"They're following us! Someone call it into base!" Another voice orders, a fist swiping across Rhys' face, drawing blood from somewhere in his mouth. He hears Jacks static shouting from the ear piece, to quiet and distant for him to actually hear the words. Suddenly, there's gun shots. Various bodies from the group dropping like sacks of potatoes to the floor.

"Hey sugar, you still with us?" Moxxi calls, her figure hazy, blurring in and out of focus in front of him. He nods weakly as the gunfire fades out.

"Yeah, he's still alive, I don't know how much longer for though. We need to get him some water soon." Fiona informs through her earpiece, fingers pressed against the device. There's a couple of seconds before Fiona appears in his vision, hand reaching from her head to come down to his ear, pressing the device in.

"He wants to speak to you." She tells him softly.

_'_ _Are_ _you_ _OK_ _Kitten_ _?_ _Did_ _you_ _get_ _shot_ _?'_ Jack near enough interrogates, pure worry in his tone.

"I'm fine." Rhys breathes, his voice hoarse and scratchy.

'Liar.' Fiona mouths, shaking her head in almost disapproval. But she knew why he was lying. If he told the truth, Jack would panic and the plan would go even more to shit than it already had. They were at a stage where the plan was salvageable. If Jack went on a murderous rampage, they had no hope.

_'_ _OK_ _._ _Lilith's_ _coming_ _over_ _to_ _pick_ _you_ _up_ _now_ _._ _You're_ _close_ _enough_ _that_ _we've_ _been_ _able_ _to_ _pick_ _up_ _the_ _base_ _signal_ _._ _We'll_ _take_ _you_ _back_ _there_ _,_ _get_ _some_ _fluids_ _into_ _you_ _and_ _I'll_ _have_ _a_ _..._ Chat _with_ _the_ _remaining_ _bandits_ _."_ Jack replies, the familiar sound of a pod door opening and the same light wind blowing into the mic. There’s a sudden loud noise, like a bullet being fired from a shotgun and the space around them seems to shift and distort. Rhys is forced to shut his eyes, the whole thing making him feel completely nauseous. When he dares to re-open his eyes, the whole scenery has changed.

“Hey, stick with us kid, Jack will get here soon, he’s just killing some bandits. Y’know… the ush.” Lilith shrugs, her hand resting on Rhys’ shoulder to rouse him from his unresponsive state. He nods his head slightly, the bang of a metal door against the wall behind him causing his to jump. Another person enters his view. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve mistaken him for Jack, but Timothy was a lot calmer… and wasn’t covered in blood like his boyfriend undoubtedly did. To many people were crowded around him, hiding his view from the surrounding activities and a lot of the daylight that was pouring down. Usually he wouldn’t mind as they were protecting him from the heat of the sun that was currently beating down on them, but, for some reason, it only made him more worried, fear and uncertainty boiling in his gut.

“Hey Rhys, take some of this.” Tim insists, pressing the nozzle of a flask to his dry, chapped lips. Water trickles into his mouth, spreading over his dried out tongue and slipping down, wetting his throat. He continues to allow Timothy to tip the container a little further, taking in the liquid without protest happily. The burning sensation in his chest was fading, the fire being doused and his body already feeling a lot better. The headache was still immense though. Like someone was continually hitting him with a hammer, the echo similar to the vibrations of a church bell.

“You messed with the _wrong_ person, asshole! It’s one thing trying to steal money from Hyperion and to hurt me, but kidnapping _Rhys_? _Damaging_ him, _threatening_ him, putting his _life on the line_ for the precious technology in his head?! He is under _my_ protection! He is more important than any technology in the galaxy, and he’s certainly more important than _you’re pathetic lives_!” Jack growls from somewhere out of Rhys’ vision. There was more talking, but Rhys couldn’t pull himself to listen. He was way too tired and his head hurt too much. There’s another loud bang, which he whittles down to being a gunshot, causing his head to throb even more.

“How is he?” Jack’s distant voice questions, people slowly departing from his vision.

“He could be a lot worse. He just needs some water and rest. Dehydration pretty common on Pandora.” Sasha informs, Jack’s bloodstained face focussing in and out of Rhys’ sight.

“Heh, you really need to stop getting hurt around me Cupcake.” He smirks, brushing a hand through Rhys’ damp, sticky hair. A normal, level headed Rhys would’ve noticed the breathy words and uneasy, tired tone. But it just… kinda slipped by him.

* * *

When Rhys wakes up the next day, he’s met by the beaming face of his best friend.

“Hey bro, how you feeling?” Vaughn grins, happy to see him awake again.

“Good… a lot better than yesterday anyways.” Rhys yawns, sitting up, back resting against the propped up pillows, “How’d it go yesterday? I think I was blacked out for most of it.” He continues, scratching the back of his neck with his flesh hand.

“Ha, yeah, I’m not surprised, you were as dry as sandpaper-“ Vaughn begins, probably over emphasising the situation that Rhys had found himself in.

“Whoa, _never_ say that again bro, it’s… weird.” Rhys interrupts, holding his palms up and trying to hold down the bile sliding up his throat.

“Sorry.” Vaughn chuckles awkwardly, “Anyway, it all got sorted. No more crazy bandits tracking your every move and trying to kidnap you. Well… at least for a couple of weeks. Months if you’re lucky.” he continues, poking fun at the young CEO.

“Ha ha very funny Vaughn.” Rhys replies dryly. There’s a short silence between the two, Vaughn allowing Rhys to wake up properly, another yawn escaping the amber haired boy’s lips. However, his eyes catch onto how shifty Vaughn was being, thumbs twiddling together, a hand occasionally moving to his face to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

“Bro, what’s up?” Rhys questions, eyes subtly scanning over their shared apartments open planned living room. “Where’s Jack?” He urges, trying to keep his voice even. The man’s missing presence was difficult to ignore, especially being as Rhys was out of it for a couple of hours. He normally would be the one to want to see the younger male first, make sure that he knew that he rescued him (secretly check that he was alright, which wasn’t all the subtle) and get the hero worship he deserved. So for him not to be here was kind of concerning.

“Er- Uhm- Well, he didn’t want you to worry so-“ Vaughn stammers, eyes looking anywhere but meeting Rhys’ gaze.

“Vaughn.” Rhys tries, his eyebrows knitting together. The more his friend stammered and stalled, the more worry nibbled at his brain and festered in his gut.

“He’s in hospital."


	20. Even Heroes Have The Right To Bleed

Rhys approaches the hospital bed slowly, hands clenched and eyebrows arched down with worry. Moxxi and Timothy were close to the body lying under the covers. Lilith was leaning up the wall by the window, arms folded tightly over her chest. He'd passed Fiona and Sasha in the corridor, both of them heading off to find something for the group to drink. Yvette was in, the corner of the room and Vaughn was close at his heels, breaking away to join her. He doesn't look at him until he's sitting on the chair next to his bedside. Eyebrows knit together, eyes staring hard at the floor, unsure at what to say.

"Hey, kitten." Jack calls, drawing Rhys' eyes to look at him.

"How are you feeling?" Rhys questions, voice uneven, lips quivering and his whole body feeling small.

"Fine. I'd be a lot better if everyone stopped acting like I was on my fucking death bed." Jack replies, a slight chuckle to his tone.

"You got shot in the chest idiot. You _would_ be on your death bed if the bullet was anymore to the left." Lilith scoffs. Jack scowls at her, not taking her words as an insult or threat in anyway, just trying to shut her up because he notices that it was clearly effecting Rhys.

"OK everyone, I think we should leave these two alone for a bit." Moxxi calls, sharing a secret wink with the pair, ushering everyone else out of the room. Once the door clicks shut, Jack raises a hand the Rhys' face, catching a stray tear running down his cheek with his thumb and cupping his face with the same hand.

"I'm so sorry." Rhys sobs, hands darting out to hold Jacks torso, but remembering the possible other injuries and settling for balling his fists in the bedsheets.

"Why you apologizing kitten? You didn't do anything wrong." Jack chuckles lightly, his thumb moving to run over the younger man's bottom lip.

"If I didn't mess up during the mission then you wouldn't have gotten shot." Rhys whines, moving his face away from Jacks hand and pressing it against the mattress.

"Nononono kiddo. That didn't effect us much. They still didn't know we were coming. I'm just getting slow in my age and they got me coming round a corner." Jack insists an explanation.

"In your age." Rhys scoffs, a small smile on his face when his rises to look at Jack.

"What?" Jack chuckles, happy to finally see a smile on the younger males face again, "there's a bit of an age gap between us remember?" Jack teases, tugging Rhys' arms for him to clamber onto the bed.

"Seven years!" Rhys exclaims, mocking offendment, his legs straddling Jacks hips, arms either side of his head, conscious of his injuries.

"Either way, I'm older." Jack grins, arching his back slightly to press his lips chaste to Rhys'. Trying to stop any pain that the man might inflict on himself, Rhys pushes hard against his lips, pushing him softly down, his back pressing flush against the mattress. The kiss only deepens, growing more romantic by the second. Teeth gnash and clink together whilst lips slide and merge against one another's. Rhys feels Jacks hands snake around his waist, fingers splayed out over his ass cheeks, the tight fabric of his trousers being the only thing separating him from skin, grabbing, squeezing,  _groping_ the covered flesh. Rhys can't help but moan, the noises being muffled and collected into Jack's open mouth, tongues moving slick against one another's. He can't stop his hips from grinding down lightly into Jacks crotch. Nobody would dare interrupt them, no matter what they were doing, unless they had a death wish. So to get interrupted was a bit of a shock, but it brought amusement to Rhys' face.

_"_ _Wow_ _,_ _those_ _two_ _are_ _really_ _going_ _at_ _it_ _!"_ The small robotic voice from outside the room comments.

"Oh for fucks sake, who brought a friggin Claptrap in here?!" Jack growls, his head rolling back into the pillow. Rhys presses his forehead into the crook of Jack's neck in a fit of laughter.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up Kitten." Jack scowls lightly, secretly happy that joy was back into Rhys' expression.

"I'm sorry, but that's too funny. Your hate for Claptrap could be made into a comedy show." Rhys breathes, his stomach hurting and a stray tear rolling down his face, following his laugh lines easily. Rhys removes himself from Jacks form, sitting neatly back on his chair, as Jacks sudden anger subsides and he cracks a smile toward the younger man.

"Claptrap, move out of the way!" Fiona growls, a nurse stepping past and rapping her knuckles lightly on the wards door.

"Yep." Jack calls, his arms raising to tuck under his head.

"Handsome Jack, sir, you're being discharged. The doctor says you're in the all clear." She smiles warmly, approaching his bedside to remove the various different tubes and wires protruding from his skin, hooking him up to several machines.

"Finally." He murmurs, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, his bare feet pressing against the cold lino flooring.

"Keep those bandages on for at least two weeks for the swelling to go down and for the wounds to heal up properly. Don't over exert yourself otherwise the wound might reopen and wed have to have you in again to replace the stitches. Clean and change the bandages every couple of days." She instructs, watching Jack slip into his worn, old Hyperion jumper, awaiting for a sign that he'd actually been listening to anything shed just said.

"Ah, don't worry about it nurse, I'll make sure all that gets done." Rhys smiles warmly, knowing that most of those things will be forced and he'd have to do everything he could to stop Jack from working too much.

* * *

"God, its good to be home." Jack sighs, inhaling heavily to get the fresh smell of his penthouse circulating in his lungs. Rhys follows close behind, shutting the front door behind them, ushering the older male to sit down on the couch.

"Whoa whoa, slow down Kitten. The couch isn't going anywhere." Jack chuckles, allowing his body to be pushed down lightly.

"Nooo, but I'm not even going to give you the chance to get to your office. You're going to take it easy for the week. That being said, would you like a drink?" Rhys replies, a smirk spreading onto his face.

"Coffee would be nice kitten." Jack grins, secretly thankful that he'd be getting the week off and his head rolls back to rest on the back of the couch. It takes a few minuets before Rhys returns with two mug, one with a strong scent of vanilla coffee, the other with steaming hot tea. Sitting next to his partner, Rhys tucks himself into Jack's side, relaxing comfortably. The pair sit in silence, bodies pressed close together, sipping their drinks and just enjoying each other's company.

"Y'know I could get used to this type of treatment cupcake. You looking after me and serving my every whim." Jack teases, his head shifting slightly to bring his lips close to the younger man's ear, teeth nibbling on his ear lobe.

"Don't I do that anyway?" He teases back, giggling slightly when he elicits a small, dominant growl from him.

"Cheeky" Jack mutters under his breathe, his words being whispered into the shell of his ear.

"Just don't get too used to this treatment. After the two week recovery, everything goes back to normal." Rhys warns.

"We'll see about that babe."


	21. We've Just Gone Full Circle

“Everything’s… normal.” Rhys mutters, walking into the large office the he shares with the man standing by his side.

“That’s good thought, right?” Vaughn questions, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, his eyes scanning over the office, standing close to Rhys.

“I- I don’t know.” Rhys admits, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, his cybernetic one clasped with Jack’s.

“After a few months of being chased by bandits, I think it should be.” Yvette comments.

“Thing is though sweetcheeks, now there’s nothing to do but paperwork. I think Rhysie is a bit sad that all the excitement’s over.” Jack explains, nudging his hips lightly against Rhys’. He didn’t overly want to admit it, but Jack was right. The past couple of months had been filled with a weird sense of excitement, the thrill of the chase and the gut twisting fear of almost dying.

“Well, it probably won’t be long before someone else is trying to kill you. Probably should put that in the job description.” Vaughn points out, causing a small chuckle to come from Jack.

"Oh my god, look at all that paperwork..." Rhys whines, looking over to the two stacks of paper piled high on his and Jack's shared desk, "I'd take a crazed group of bandits any day of the week over that." he groans, walking away from the group and flicking through some of the sheets.

"Still, it's nice to know that whilst we were getting chased and shot at, sales were going up." Rhys smirks, scanning his eyes over a sheet with this months financial report.

"Friggin' idiots were probably using Hyperion guns and ammo." Jack snorts, making his way toward the younger male.

"Well it's great to see you alive an all Rhys, but some of us have actual work to do." Yvette teases, heading back to the heavy duty door with Vaughn.

"Ha ha." Rhys drones sarcastically, "I'll come down and join you for lunch later if I'm not too busy." he adds.

"If someone's shooting at you, I think I'll let you off." Vaughn jokes, squeezing the sentence in just before the doors slide shut.

* * *

Jacks lips start between Rhys' shoulder blades, trailing kisses down the curve of his back, using his spine as a guide. His tongue pokes out at one point, drawing a thin, slick line of saliva, before reverting back to kisses. Reaching the base, he pressing kisses in a small circle, his fingers clawing at the him of Rhys' boxers, slipping his fingers under the band of elastic. He hears various moans eliciting from the young males lips, varying in pitch and speed, spurring him on a little more. His hips move slightly, swaying from side to side as the kisses don't faulted, even when his boxers are being slid down his thighs. Jack reaches around Rhys' hips, fingers curling around his erect cock, precum already dripping onto the desk.

"Already so ready for me Kitten, and I've barely done anything to you." Jack teases, moving to press a kiss against Rhys' shoulder, nuzzling his nose against his neck.

"Really? Because you've been touching me up and dirty talking me all day." Rhys counters, his voice hitching as hands begin to fondle his length. A quick nip of teeth on the sensitive skin of his flesh shocks him enough to yelp in surprise.

"Don't back talk me." Jack purrs, rocking his hips against Rhys' ass, the fabric of his trousers rubbing against both of their flesh.

"F-Fuck." Rhys breathes, earning a rough, sharp buck from Jack's hips.

"Watch the language Kitten." Jack growls, cupping Rhys' chin, slipping his thumb through parted lips to rest on the younger males tongue. With his free hand he undoes his belt buckle and slides down his trousers, stepping out of them and his cock springing forward. Rhys can't help but roll his eyes.

"What you pulling faces for?" Jack sings, removing his thumb from his mouth, but keeping his face captive in his fingertips.

"Commando... Really?" Rhys mutters, glancing back at the CEO whilst the hot flesh presses against him.

"It just turns you on that little bit more." He grins, pushing three fingers back into Rhys' mouth, "here, suck on these, I don't want you leaving the desk until I'm finished with you." He continues, applying some pressure onto Rhys' tongue to get it to move.

“I think I like having you like this. So needy and submissive, willing to do anything I tell you too.” Jack purrs sticking his tongue out and licking the tender bit behind Rhys’ ear, before pausing, “Isn’t that right Pumpkin? You’d do _anything_ I asked you to?" 

Rhys nods frantically rutting in Jack’s hand since it has still on his cock.

“Good boy.” he smirks, pulling his fingers from Rhys’ mouth and rubbing them over his exposed erection. He doesn’t even give Rhys time to whimper at the loss of pressure on his tongue or the lack of friction, before pushing into him. Rhys cries out, his hands reaching out and fingers clawing at the edges of the desk, bring to find some way to anchor himself.

“J-Jack!”

Jack continues to rock his hips against Rhys’ bringing them both closer to their climax with each thrust.

“So cute.” Jack mutters, breathing becoming quickly laboured.

“Jaaaacck!” Rhys moan, his fingernails digging into the desk and his toes curling as his orgasm hitting him hard. It does’t take long for Jack to follow suit, roughly moaning Rhys’ name in the shell of his ear. Jack's weight rests on Rhys' back as the pair lie on the desk, panting and trying to regain their breathe. They probably would've stayed there for a lot longer, but Rhys begins to whine, wanting to snuggle his face into Jack's neck, but also feeling the discomfort of the older man's finish trailing down his thighs.

"C'mon, we'll get cleaned up and then you can sit with me whilst we catch up on work." Jack says, pulling the younger man into his arms, his legs wrapping around his waist, and carrying him to on suite bathroom.

"On your lap?" Rhys pouts, resting his forehead on his shoulder.

"OK." Jack chuckles.

* * *

"I'm supposed to be downstairs having lunch with Vaughn and Yvette." Rhys mutters, suddenly remembering his earlier lunch appointment.

"You're always welcome to invite them up here for lunch y'know? You're the only one I bite." Jack replies, lightly nipping his teeth  on the crook of his neck as he sits curled in his lap.

"Mmhh, I'll call him now then." Rhys says, pulling up Vaughn's number on his ECHOcomm.

"Hey buddy, I was just about to call you." Vaughn answers.

"Really? S'up?" Rhys chuckles, unconsciously rubbing his face lightly where it rests on Jack's chest.

"You gonna let me and Yvette into the office or not? We figured you'd be busy so we thought we'd bring lunch up to you instead." He replies.

"Awesome, thanks bro. Jack, can you press the button, thingy... Please." Rhys smirks, batting his eyes up at the older male.

"Unless you pair are having sex, then we can wait." Yvette chimes in, nudging Vaughn out of the way slightly.

"Don't worry about that, I screwed him earlier." Jack chuckles.

"Ew gross." Yvette snickers.

"Didn't need to know that information." Vaughn mutters, ending the call and walking through the heavy duty door by Yvette. Rhys remains snuggled close into Jack's torso, his warmth too inviting to leave, as the pair pull up a chair on the other side of the desk, plonking some food down on the surface. Yvette looked as if she was about to start a conversation with the three, but a call on the main comms interrupts her.

"Handsome Jack and Mr. Rhys, the men from Jakobs are on their way over to re-discuss that gun line with you and tomorrow please don't forget that you have a shipment on Pandora to look over." The secretary informs, causing Rhys to sigh slightly and Jack to roll his eyes. "Oh and you got a call from a 'Mad Moxxie' insisting that you pay her a visit after the shipment check tomorrow to see her and 'TimTams'...?" She continues, hesitating on the names as if double checking that she's read them right.

"Wow, CEO work really does never end. And I thought that all you pair did up here was watch T.V and crack stupid jokes." Yvette remarks, giggling as she tucks into her sandwich.

"Yep, never stops, just the same shit on a different day." Jack replies, resting his chin on top of Rhys' head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it people. No more updates after this as I am officially ending it. I hope everyone has enjoyed and that it was a good read. I know some people that have read this fic are also reading my newest fic; The Trials of Love and I wanna thank everyone for that because it's gotten some awesome feedback! Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed :)


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